Environmental Studies, Fostering Social Responsibility

And Community Engagement in Higher Educational Institutions in

India

for Under-Graduate Students

 Contents

UNIT 1: THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

1.1 DEFINITION, SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE

1.1.1 Definition
1.1.2 Scope
1.1.3 Importance

1.2 NEED FOR PUBLIC AWARENESS

1.2.1 Institutions in Environment
1.2.2 People in Environment

UNIT 2: NATURAL RESOURCES

2.1 Introduction
2.2 Renewable and non-renewable resources
2.2.1 Natural resources and associated problems
2.2.2 Non-renewable resources
2.2.3 Renewable resources
a. Forest Resources
b. Water Resources
c. Mineral Resources
d. Food Resources
e. Energy Resources
f. Land resources

2.3 ROLE OF AN INDIVIDUAL IN CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

2.4 EQUITABLE USE OF RESOURCES FOR SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLES

UNIT 3: BIODIVERSITY AND ITS CONSERVATION

3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.1.1 Genetic diversity
3.1.2 Species diversity
3.1.3 Ecosystem diversity
[Link] Concept of an ecosystem
[Link] Understanding ecosystems
[Link] Ecosystem degradation
[Link] Resource utilization

3.2 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF AN ECOSYSTEM

3.2.1 Structural aspects
3.2.2 Functional aspects

3.3 PRODUCERS, CONSUMERS AND DECOMPOSERS

3.4 ENERGY FLOW IN THE ECOSYSTEM

3.5 FOOD CHAINS, FOOD WEBS AND ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS

3.5.1 The food chains
3.5.2 The food webs
3.5.3 The ecological pyramids

3.6 TYPES OF ECOSYSTEMS

3.7 ECOSYSTEM GOODS AND SERVICES

3.8 EVOLUTION AND THE GENESIS OF BIODIVERSITY

3.9 VALUE OF BIODIVERSITY

3.9.1 Consumptive use value
3.9.2 Productive use value
3.9.3 Social values
3.9.4 Ethical and moral values
3.9.5 Aesthetic value
3.9.6 Option value

3.10 BIODIVERSITY AT GLOBAL, NATIONAL AND LOCAL LEVELS

3.11 INDIA AS A MEGA DIVERSITY NATION

3.12 HOTSPOTS OF BIODIVERSITY

3.13 THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY

3.14 ENDANGERED AND ENDEMIC SPECIES OF INDIA

3.14.1 Common Plant species
3.14.2 Common Animal species

3.15 CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY

3.15.1 In-situ conservation
3.15.2 Ex-situ conservation

UNIT 4: POLLUTION

4.1 Definition
4.2 CAUSES, EFFECTS AND CONTROL MEASURES OF POLLUTION
4.2.1 Air Pollution
4.2.2 Water Pollution
4.2.3 Soil Pollution
4.2.4 Marine Pollution
4.2.5 Noise Pollution
4.2.6 Thermal Pollution
4.2.7 Nuclear Hazards

4.3 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

4.4 ROLE OF AN INDIVIDUAL IN THE PREVENTION OF POLLUTION

UNIT 5: FOSTERING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN HIGHER

EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN INDIA

5.1. Introduction
5.1.1 Global Context
5.1.2 Community Engagement in India
5.1.3 Key Principles for Community Engagement
5.1.4 Forms of Community Engagement

5.2. Operational Guidelines

5.2.1 Compulsory Community Engagement Course
5.2.2 Adapting Existing Courses for Community Engagement
5.2.3 Offering new courses
5.2.4 Undertaking research in partnership with local community

5.3. Implementation Strategy

Annexure: Composition of the UGC SEG
 UNIT 1: The Multidisciplinary Nature of Environmental Studies

1.1 DEFINITION, SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE

1.1.1 Definition
Environmental studies deals with every issue that affects an organism. It is essentially a multidisciplinary approach
that brings about an appreciation of our natural world and human impacts on its integrity. It is an applied science
as its seeks practical answers to making human civilization sustainable on the earth’s finite resources. Its
components include biology, geology, chemistry, physics, engineering, sociology, health, anthropology, economics,
statistics, computers and philosophy.

1.1.2 Scope
As we look around at the area in which we live, we see that our surroundings were originally a natural landscape
such as a forest, a river, a mountain, a desert, or a combination of these elements. Most of us live in landscapes
that have been heavily modified by human beings, in villages, towns or cities. But even those of us who live in cities
get our food supply from surrounding villages and these in turn are dependent on natural landscapes such as
forests, grasslands, rivers, seashores, for resources such as water for agriculture, fuel wood, fodder, and fish. Thus
our daily lives are linked with our surroundings and inevitably affects them. We use water to drink and for other
day-to-day activities. We breathe air, we use resources from which food is made and we depend on the
community of living plants and animals which form a web of life, of which we are also a part. Everything around us
forms our environment and our lives
depend on keeping its vital systems as intact as possible.
Our dependence on nature is so great that we cannot continue to live without protecting the earth’s
environmental resources. Thus most traditions refer to our environment as ‘Mother Nature’ and most traditional
societies have learned that respecting nature is vital for their livelihoods. This has led to many cultural practices
that helped traditional societies protect and preserve their natural resources. Respect for nature and all living
creatures is not new to India. All our traditions are based on these values. Emperor Ashoka’s edict proclaimed that
all forms of life are important for our well being in Fourth Century BC.
Over the past 200 years however, modern societies began to believe that easy answers to the question of
producing more resources could be provided by means of technological innovations. For example, though growing
more food by using fertilizers and pesticides, developing better strains of domestic animals and crops, irrigating
farmland through mega dams and developing industry, led to rapid economic growth, the ill effects of this type of
development, led to environmental degradation. The industrial development and intensive agriculture that
provides the goods for our increasingly consumer oriented society uses up large amounts of natural resources
such as water, minerals, petroleum products, wood, etc. Nonrenewable resources, such as minerals and oil are
those which will be exhausted in the future if we continue to extract these without a thought for subsequent
generations. Renewable resources, such as timber and water, are those which can be used but can be regenerated
by natural processes such as re-growth or rainfall. But these too will be depleted if we continue to use them faster
than nature can replace them. For example, if the removal of timber and firewood from a forest is faster than the
re-growth and regeneration of trees, it cannot replenish the supply. And loss of forest cover not only depletes the
forest of its resources, such as timber and other non-wood products, but affect our water resources because an
intact natural forest acts like a sponge which holds water and releases it slowly. Deforestation leads to floods in
the monsoon and dry rivers once the rains are over. Such multiple effects on the environment resulting from
routine human activities must be appreciated by each one of us, if it is to provide us with the resources we need in
the long-term. Our natural resources can be compared with money in a bank. If we use it rapidly, the capital will be
reduced to zero. On the other hand, if we use only the interest, it can sustain us over the longer term. This is called
sustainable utilisation or development.

Activity 1: Take any article that you use in daily life – a bucket full of water, or an item of
food, a table, or a book. Trace its components journey backwards from your home to their
origins as natural resources in our environment. How many of these components are
renewable resources and how many non-renewable?
 Activity 2: Try to answer the questions above for one of the components in the article you
chose in Activity 1. Then answer the following questions:
• Are you using that resource unsustainably?
• In what ways could you reduce, reuse and recycle that resource?
• Is there an unequal distribution of this resource so that you are more fortunate
than many others
who have less access to it?
Understanding and making ourselves more aware of our environmental assets and problems is not
enough. We, each one of us, must become increasingly concerned about our environment and change the way in
which we use every resource. Unsustainable utilization can result from overuse of resources, because of
population increase, and because many of us are using more resources than we really need. Most of us indulge in
wasteful behaviour patterns without even thinking about their environmental impacts. Thus, for all our actions to
be environmentally positive we need to look from a new perspective at how we use resources. For every resource
we use we must ask ourselves the following questions:
• What is the rarity of the resource and where does it originate?
• Who uses it most intensively and how?
• How is it being overused or misused?
• Who is responsible for its improper use - the resource collector, the middleman, the end user?
• How can we help to conserve it and prevent its unsustainable use?
Once we begin to ask these questions of ourselves, we will begin to live life-styles that are more
sustainable and will support our environment.

1.1.3 Importance
Environment is not a single subject. It is an integration of several subjects that include both Science and Social
Studies. To understand all the different aspects of our environment we need to understand biology, chemistry,
physics, geography, resource management, economics and population issues. Thus the scope of environmental
studies is extremely wide and covers some aspects of nearly every major discipline. We live in a world in which
natural resources are limited. Water, air, soil, minerals, oil, the products we get from forests, grasslands, oceans
and from agriculture and livestock, are all a part of our life support systems. Without them, life itself would be
impossible. As we keep increasing in numbers and the quantity of resources each of us uses also increases, the
earth’s resource base must inevitably shrink. The earth cannot be expected to sustain this expanding level of
utilization of resources. Added to this is misuse of resources. We waste or pollute large amounts of nature’s clean
water; we create more and more material like plastic that we discard after a single use; and we waste colossal
amounts of food, which is discarded as garbage.
Manufacturing processes create solid waste byproducts that are discarded, as well as chemicals that flow
out as liquid waste and pollute water, and gases that pollute the air. Increasing amounts of waste cannot be
managed by natural processes. These accumulate in our environment, leading to a variety of diseases and other
adverse environmental impacts now seriously affecting all our lives. Air pollution leads to respiratory diseases,
water pollution to gastro-intestinal diseases, and many pollutants are known to cause cancer. Improving this
situation will only happen if each of us begins to take actions in our daily lives that will help preserve our
environmental resources. We cannot expect Governments alone to manage the safeguarding of the environment,
nor can we expect other people to prevent environmental damage. We need to do it ourselves. It is a responsibility
that each of us must take on as ones own.

Activity 3: Think of all the things that you do in a day. List these activities and identify the main
resources used during these activities. What can you do to prevent waste, reuse articles that you
normally throw away, what recycled materials can you use?
• Think of the various energy sources you use everyday. How could you reduce their use?

who have less access to it?

Activity 4: Exercises in self learning about the environment
Attempt to assess the level of damage to the environment due to your actions that have occurred
during your last working day, the last week, the last year. Then estimate the damage you are likely
to do in your lifetime if you continue in your present ways.
Use the following examples for the above exercise:

Example - Plastic:
Plastic bags, plastic ball pens. Think about all the articles you use daily that are made from plastic. Plastic plays an
important part in our modern lives. Make a list of the plastic articles you usually use. How can you reduce the
amount of plastic you use? What effects does plastic have on our environment? Where did the plastic come
from/how is it made? What happens to it when you throw it away/where does it go?

Example - Fossil fuels:

How much do you use? Can you reduce your consumption? What effect does it have on the air we breathe? When
we leave a motorbike or car running during a traffic stop, we do not usually remember that the fuel we are wasting
is a part of a nonrenewable resource that the earth cannot reform. Once all the fossil fuels are burnt off, it will
mean the end of oil as a source of energy. Only if each of us contributes our part in conserving fossil-based energy
can we make it last longer on earth.

Example - Water:
How much do you really need to use, as against how much you waste when you: (a) Brush your teeth? (b) Have a
bath? (c) Wash clothes? (d) Wash the scooter or car? Where did the water come from? What is its actual source?
How has it reached you? Where will the waste water go? Do you feel you should change the way you use water?
How can you change this so that it is more sustainable?

Example - Food:
Where has it come from? How is it grown? What chemicals are used in its production? How does it reach you?
How is it cooked? How much is wasted? How is the waste disposed off?

Example - Paper:
What is it made from? Where does it come from and what happens during manufacture? How much do you use
and how much do you waste? How can you prevent it from being wasted?

Example - Electrical Energy:

How much do you use everyday? Where does it come from? How do you waste it? How can you conserve energy?

Productive value of nature: As scientists make new advances in fields such as biotechnology we begin to
understand that the world’s species contain an incredible and uncountable number of complex chemicals. These
are the raw materials that are used for developing new medicines and industrial products and are a storehouse
from which to develop thousands of new products in the future.
The flowering plants and insects that form the most species-rich groups of living organisms are thus vital
for the future development of man. If we degrade their habitat these species will become extinct. If one sees a
product that comes from an illegally killed wild species being sold or used, if we do not inform the authorities, we
become party to its extinction. Once they are lost, man cannot bring them back. When we permit the destruction
of a forest, wetland or other natural areas and do not protest against it, remember, future generations are being
denied the use of these valuable resources and will blame us for these rash and negligent actions towards the
environment. Thus the urgent need to protect all living species is a concept that we need to understand and act
upon. While individually, we perhaps cannot directly prevent the extinction of a species, creating a strong public
opinion to protect the National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries in which wild species live is an importance aspect of
sustainable living. There is a close link between agriculture and the forest, which illustrates its productive value.
For crops to be successful, the flowers of fruit trees and vegetables must be pollinated by insects, bats and birds.
Their life-cycles however, frequently require intact forests.

Aesthetic/Recreational value of nature: The aesthetic and recreational values that nature possesses enlivens our
existence on earth. This is created by developing National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries in relatively undisturbed
areas. A true wilderness experience has not only recreational value but is an incredible learning experience. It
brings about an understanding of the oneness of nature and the fact that we are entirely dependent upon the
intricate functioning of ecosystems. The beauty of nature encompasses every aspect of the living and non-living
part of our earth. One can appreciate the magnificence of a mountain, the power of the sea, the beauty of a forest,
and the vast expanse of the desert. It is these natural vistas and their incredible diversity of plant and animal life
that has led to the development of several philosophies of life. It has also inspired artists to develop visual arts and
writers and poets to create their works that vitalize our lives. A wilderness experience has exceptional recreational
value. This has been described as nature tourism, or wildlife tourism, and is also one aspect of adventure tourism.
These recreational facilities not only provide a pleasurable experience but are intended to create a deep respect
and love for nature. They are also key tools in educating people about the fragility of the environment and the
need for sustainable lifestyles.
In an urban setting, green spaces and gardens are vital to the pschycological and physical health of city
dwellers. It provides not only an aesthetic and visual appeal but the ability to ensure that each individual is able to
access a certain amount of peace and tranquility. Thus, urban environmental planners must ensure that these
facilities are created in growing urban complexes. Another important conservation education facility in urban
settings includes the need to set up well designed and properly managed zoological parks and aquariums. These
have got great value in sensitizing school students to wildlife. Many young people who frequented zoos as young
children grow up to love wildlife and become conservationists. In the absence of access to a Protected Area, a
botanical garden or a zoo, one concept that can be developed is to create small nature awareness areas with
interpretation facilities at district and taluka levels. These areas can be developed to mimic natural ecosystems
even though they could be relatively small in size. Such nature trails are invaluable assets for creating conservation
education and awareness. They can be developed in a small woodlot, a patch of grassland, a pond ecosystem, or
be situated along an undisturbed river or coastal area. This would bring home to the visitor the importance of
protecting our dwindling wilderness areas.

The option values of nature: While we utilize several goods and services of nature and enjoy its benefits, we must
recognize that every activity that we do in our daily lives has an adverse impact on nature’s integrity. Thus, if we
use up all our resources, kill off and let species of plants and animals become extinct on earth, pollute our air and
water, degrade land, and create enormous quantities of waste, we as a generation will leave nothing for future
generations. Our present generation has developed its economies and lifestyles on unsustainable patterns of life.
However, nature provides us with various options on how we utilize its goods and services. This is its option value.
We can use up goods and services greedily and destroy its integrity and long-term values, or we can use its
resources sustainably and reduce our impacts on the environment. The option value allows us to use its resources
sustainably and preserve its goods and services for the future.

1.2 NEED FOR PUBLIC AWARENESS

As the earth’s natural resources are dwindling and our environment is being increasingly degraded by human
activities, it is evident that something needs to be done. We often feel that managing all this is something that the
Government should do. But if we go on endangering our environment, there is no way in which the Government
can perform all these clean-up functions. It is the prevention of environment degradation in which we must all take
part that must become a part of all our lives. Just as for any disease, prevention is better than cure. To prevent ill-
effects on our environment by our actions, is economically more viable than cleaning up the environment once it is
damaged. Individually we can play a major role in environment management. We can reduce wasting natural
resources and we can act as watchdogs that inform the Government about sources that lead to pollution and
degradation of our environment. This can only be made possible through mass public awareness. Mass media such
as newspapers, radio, television, strongly influence public opinion. However, someone has to bring this about. If
each of us feels strongly about the environment, the press and media will add to our efforts. Politicians in a
democracy always respond positively to a strong publicly supported movement. Thus if you join an NGO that
supports conservation, politicians will make green policies. We are living on spaceship earth with a limited supply
of resources. Each of us is responsible for spreading this message to as many people as possible.

Suggested further activities for concerned students:

• Join a group to study nature, such as WWFI or BNHS, or another environmental group.
• Begin reading newspaper articles and periodicals such as ‘Down to Earth’, WWF-I newsletter, BNHS
Hornbill, Sanctuary magazine, etc. that will tell you more about our environment. There are also several
 Environmental websites.
• Lobby for conserving resources by taking up the cause of environmental issues during discussions with
friends and relatives. Practice and promote issues such as saving paper, saving water, reducing use of
plastics, practicing the 3Rs principle of reduce, reuse, recycle, and proper waste disposal.
• Join local movements that support activities such as saving trees in your area, go on nature treks,
recycle waste, buy environmentally friendly products.
• Practice and promote good civic sense such as no spitting or tobacco chewing, no throwing of garbage
on the road, no smoking in public places, no urinating or defecating in public places.
• Take part in events organised on World Environment Day, Wildlife Week, etc.
• Visit a National Park or Sanctuary, or spend time in whatever nature you have near your home.

1.2.1 Institutions in Environment

There have been several Government and Nongovernment organizations which led our country to environmental
protection. They have led to a growing interest in environmental protection and conservation of nature and
natural resources. The traditional conservation practices that were part of ancient India’s culture have however
gradually disappeared. Public awareness is thus a critical need to further environmental protection. Among the
large number of institutions that deal with environmental protection and conservation, a few well-known
government organizations include the BSI and ZSI, and NGOs such as BNHS, WWF-I, etc.

Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Mumbai: The BNHS began as a small society of six members in 1883. It
grew from a group of shikaris and people from all walks of life into a major research organisation that substantially
influenced conservation policy in the country. The influence on wildlife policy building, research, popular
publications and peoples’ action have been unique features of this multifaceted society. Undoubtedly its major
contribution has been in the field of wildlife research. It is India’s oldest conservation research-based Non-
Governmental Organisation (NGO) and one that has acted at the forefront of the battle for species and
ecosystems. The BNHS publishes a popular magazine called Hornbill and also an internationally well-known Journal
on Natural History. Its other publications include the Salim Ali Handbook on birds, JC Daniel’s book of Indian
Reptiles, SH Prater’s book of Indian Mammals and PV Bole’s book of Indian Trees. One of its greatest scientists was
Dr. Salim Ali whose ornithological work on the birds of the Indian subcontinent is world famous. The BNHS has
helped the Government to frame wildlife related laws over the years and has taken up battles such as the ‘Save the
Silent Valley’ campaign.

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-I), New Delhi: The WWF-I was initiated in 1969 in Mumbai after which the
headquarters was shifted to Delhi with several branch offices all over India. The early years focused attention on
wildlife education and awareness. It runs several programs including the Nature Clubs of India program for school
children and works as a think-tank and lobby-force for environment and
development issues.

Center for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi: Activities of this Center include organising campaigns,
holding workshops and conferences, and producing environment related publications. It published a major
document on the ‘State of India’s Environment’, the first of its kind to be produced as a Citizen’s Report on the
Environment. The CSE also publishes a popular magazine, ‘Down to Earth’, which is a Science and Environment
fortnightly. It is involved in the publication of material in the form of books, posters, video films and also conduct
of workshops and seminars on biodiversity and biodiversity related issues.
CPR Environmental Education Centre, Madras: The CPR EEC was set up in 1988. It conducts a variety of programs
to spread environmental awareness and creates an interest in conservation among the general public. It focusses
attention on NGOs, teachers, women, youth and children to generally promote conservation of nature and natural
resources. Its programs include components on wildlife and biodiversity issues. CPR EEC also produces a large
number of publications.

Centre for Environment Education (CEE), Ahmedabad: The Centre for Environment Education, Ahmedabad was
initiated in 1989. It has a wide range of programs on the environment and produces a variety of educational
material. CEE’s Training in Environment Education (TEE) program has trained many environment educators.
Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environment Education and Research (BVIEER), Pune: This is part of the Bharati
Vidyapeeth Deemed University. The Institute has a Ph.D., a Masters and Bachelors program in Environmental
Sciences. It also offers an innovative Diploma in Environment Education for in-service teachers. It implements a
large outreach program that has covered over 135 schools in which it trains teachers and conducts fortnightly
Environment Education Programs. Biodiversity Conservation is a major focus of its research initiatives. It develops
low cost Interpretation Centres for Natural and Architectural sites that are highly locale specific as well as a large
amount of innovative environment educational material for a variety of target groups. Its unique feature is that it
conducts environment education from primary school level to the post-graduate level. The BVIEER has produced
several EE aids. It has developed a teacher’s handbook linked to school curriculum, a textbook for UGC for its
undergraduate course on environment. Its Director has developed a CD ROM on India’s biodiversity published by
Mapin Publishers, Ahmedabad.

Uttarkhand Seva Nidhi (UKSN), Almora: The Organisation is a Nodal Agency which supports NGOs in need of funds
for their environment related activities. Its major program is organizing and training school teachers to use its local
specific Environment Education Workbook Program. The main targets are linked with sustainable resource use at
the village level through training school children. Its environment education program covers about 500 schools.

Kalpavriksh, Pune: This NGO, initially Delhi-based, is now working from Pune and is active in several other parts of
India. Kalpavriksh works on a variety of fronts: education and awareness; investigation and research; direct action
and lobbying; and litigation with regard to environment and development issues. Its activities include talks and
audio-visuals in schools and colleges, nature walks and outstation camps, organising student participation in
ongoing campaigns including street demonstrations, pushing for consumer awareness regarding organic food,
press statements, handling green alerts, and meetings with the city’s administrators. It is involved with the
preparation of site-specific, environmental manuals for schoolteachers. Kalpavriksh was responsible for developing
India’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan in 2003.

Salim Ali Center for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Coimbatore: This institution was Dr. Salim Ali’s
dream that became a reality only after his demise. He wished to support a group of committed conservation
scientists on a permanent basis. Initially conceived as being a wing of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) it
later evolved as an independent organisation based at Coimbatore in 1990. It has instituted a variety of field
programs that have added to the country’s information on our threatened biodiversity.

Wildlife Institute of India (WLI), Dehradun: This Institution was established in 1982, as a major training
establishment for Forest Officials and Research in Wildlife Management. Its most significant publication is
‘Planning A Wildlife Protected Area Network for India’ (Rodgers and Panwar, 1988). The organization has over the
years added an enormous amount of information on India’s biological wealth. It has trained a large number of
Forest Department Officials and Staff as Wildlife Managers. Its [Link]. Program has trained excellent wildlife
scientists. It also has an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) cell. It trains personnel in eco-development, wildlife
biology, habitat management and Nature interpretation.

Botanical Survey of India (BSI): The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) was established in 1890 at the Royal Botanic
Gardens, Calcutta (Kolkata). However, it closed down for several years after 1939 and was reopened in 1954. In
1952 plans were made to reorganise the BSI and formulate its objectives. By 1955 the BSI had its headquarters in
Kolkata with Circle Offices at Coimbatore, Shillong, Pune and Dehra Dun.
Between 1962 and 1979, offices were established in Allahbad, Jodhpur, Port Blair, Itanagar and Gangtok. The BSI
currently has nine regional centres. It carries out surveys of plant resources in different regions.

Zoological Survey of India (ZSI): The ZSI was established in 1916. Its mandate was to do a systematic survey of the
Indian fauna. It has collected ‘type specimens’ over the years on the bases of which our animal life is being studied.
Its origins were collections based at the Indian Museum at Kolkata, which was established in 1875. Older
collections of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, which were made between 1814 and 1875, as well as those of the
Indian Museum made between 1875 and 1916 were then transferred to the ZSI. Today it has over a million
specimens! This makes it one of the largest collections in Asia. It has done an enormous amount of work on
taxonomy and ecology. It currently operates from 16 regional centers.

1.2.2 People in Environment

There are several internationally known environmental thinkers. Among those who have made landmarks, the
names usually mentioned are Charles Darwin, Ralph Emerson, Henry Thoreau, John Muir, Aldo Leopald, Rachel
Carson and EO Wilson. Each of these thinkers looked at the environment from a completely different perspective.

Charles Darwin wrote the ‘Origin of Species’, which brought to light the close relationship between habitats and
species. It brought about a new thinking of man’s relationship with other species that was based on evolution.
Alfred Wallace came to the same conclusions during his work.

Ralph Emerson spoke of the dangers of commerce to our environment way back in the 1840s.

Henry Thoreau in the 1860s wrote that the wilderness should be preserved after he lived in the wild for a year. He
felt that most people did not care for nature and would sell it off for a small sum of money.

John Muir is remembered as having saved the great ancient sequoia trees in California’a forests. In the 1890s he
formed the Sierra club, which is a major conservation NGO in the USA.

Aldo Leopald was a forest official in the US in the 1920s. He designed the early policies on wilderness conservation
and wildlife management.

In the 1960s Rachel Carson published several articles that caused immediate worldwide concern on the effects of
pesticides on nature and mankind. She wrote a well-known book called ‘Silent Spring’ which eventually led to a
change in Government policy and public awareness.

EO Wilson is an entomologist who envisioned that biological diversity was a key to human survival on earth. He
wrote ‘Diversity of Life’ in 1993, which was awarded a prize for the best book published on environmental issues.
His writings brought home to the world the risks to mankind due to man made disturbances in natural ecosystems
that are leading to the rapid extinction of species at the global level.
A number of individuals have instrumental in shaping the environmental history in our country. Some of the well-
known names in the last century include environmentalists, scientists, administrators, legal experts, educationists
and journalists.

Salim Ali’s name is synonymous with ornithology in India and with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). He
wrote several books including the famous ‘Book of Indian Birds’. His autobiography, ‘Fall of a Sparrow’ should be
read by every nature enthusiast. He was our country’s leading conservation scientist and influenced environmental
policies in our country for over 50 years.

Indira Gandhi as PM played a highly significant role in the preservation of India’s wildlife. It was during her period,
that the network of PAs grew from 65 to 298! The Wildlife Protection Act was formulated during her period when
as PM and the the Indian Board for Wildlife was extremely active as she personally chaired all its meetings. India
gained a name for itself by being a major player in CITES and other International Environmental Treaties and
Accords during her tenure. BNHS frequently used her good will to get conservation action initiated by the
Government.

S P Godrej was one of India’s greatest supporters of wildlife conservation and nature awareness programs.
Between 1975 and 1999, he received 10 awards for his conservation activities. He was awarded the Padma
Bhushan in 1999. His friendship with people in power combined with his deep commitment to conservation led to
his playing a major advocacy role for wildlife in India.
M S Swaminathan is one of India’s foremost agricultural scientists and has also been concerned with various
aspects of biodiversity conservation both of cultivars and wild biodiversity. He has founded the MS Swaminathan
Research Foundation in Chennai, which does work on the conservation of biological diversity.

Madhav Gadgil is a well-known ecologist in India. His interests range from broad ecological issues such as
developing Community Biodiversity Registers and conserving sacred groves to studies on the behavior of
mammals, birds and insects. He has written several articles, published papers in journals and is the author of 6
books.

M C Mehta is undoubtedly India’s most famous environmental lawyer. Since 1984, he has filed several Public
Interest Litigations for supporting the cause of environmental conservation. His most famous and long drawn
battles supported by the Supreme Court include protecting the Taj Mahal, cleaning up the Ganges River, banning
intensive shrimp farming on the coast, initiating Government to implement environmental education in schools
and colleges, and a variety of other conservation issues.

Anil Agarwal was a journalist who wrote the first report on the ‘State of India’s Environment’ in 1982. He founded
the Center for Science and Environment which is an active NGO that supports various environmental issues.

Medha Patkar is known as one of India’s champions who has supported the cause of downtrodden tribal people
whose environment was being affected by the dams on the Narmada river.

Sunderlal Bahugna’s Chipko Movement has become an internationally known example of a highly successful
conservation action program through the efforts of local people for guarding their forest resources. His fight to
prevent the construction of the Tehri Dam in a fragile earthquake prone setting is a
battle that he continues to wage. The Garhwal Hills will always remember his dedication to the cause for which he
has walked over 20 thousand kilometers.
UNIT 2: Natural Resources

2.1 Introduction
Our environment provides us with a variety of goods and services necessary for our day to day lives. These natural
resources include, air, water, soil, minerals, along with the climate and solar energy, which form the non-living or
‘abiotic’ part of nature. The ‘biotic’ or living parts of nature consists of plants and animals, including microbes.
Plants and animals can only survive as communities of different organisms, all closely linked to each in their own
habitat, and requiring specific abiotic conditions. Thus, forests, grasslands, deserts, mountains, rivers, lakes and
the marine environment all form habitats for specialised communities of plants and animals to live in. Interactions
between the abiotic aspects of nature and specific living organisms together form ecosystems of various types.
Many of these living organisms are used as our food resources. Others are linked to our food less directly,
such as pollinators and dispersers of plants, soil animals like worms, which recycle nutrients for plant growth, and
fungi and termites that break up dead plant material so that micro-organisms can act on the detritus to reform soil
nutrients.

History of our global environment: About ten thousand years ago, when mankind changed from a hunter-
gatherer, living in wilderness areas such as forests and grasslands, into an agriculturalist and pastoralist, we began
to change the environment to suit our own requirements. As our ability to grow food and use domestic animals
grew, these ‘natural’ ecosystems were developed into agricultural land. Most traditional agriculturists depended
extensively on rain, streams and rivers for water. Later, they began to use wells to tap underground water sources
and to impound water and created irrigated land by building dams. Recently we began to use fertilizers and
pesticides to further boost the production of food from the same amount of land. However we now realize that all
this has led to several undesirable changes in our environment. Mankind has been overusing and depleting natural
resources. The over-intensive use of land has been found to exhaust the capability of the ecosystem to support the
growing demands of more and more people, all requiring more intensive use of resources. Industrial growth,
urbanisation, population growth and the enormous increase in the use of consumer goods, have all put further
stresses on the environment. They create great quantities of solid waste. Pollution of air, water and soil have
begun to seriously affect human health.

Changes in land and resource use: During the last 100 years, a better health care delivery system and an improved
nutritional status has led to rapid population growth, especially in the developing countries. This phenomenal rise
in human numbers has, in the recent past, placed great demands on the earth’s natural resources. Large stretches
of land such as forests, grasslands and wetlands have been converted into intensive agriculture. Land has been
taken for industry and the urban sectors. These changes have brought about dramatic alterations in land-use
patterns and rapid disappearance of valuable natural ecosystems. The need for more water, more food, more
energy, more consumer goods, is not only the result of a greater population, but also the result of over-utilization
of resources by people from the more affluent societies, and the affluent sections of our own.
Industrial development is aimed at meeting growing demands for all consumer items. However, these
consumer goods also generate waste in ever larger quantities. The growth of industrial complexes has led to a shift
of people from their traditional, sustainable, rural way of life to urban centers that developed around industry.
During the last few decades, several small urban centers have become large cities, some have even become giant
mega-cities. This has increased the disparity between what the surrounding land can produce and what the large
number of increasingly consumer-oriented people in these areas of high population density consume. Urban
centers cannot exist without resources such as water from rivers and lakes, food from agricultural areas, domestic
animals from pasture lands and timber, fuel wood, construction material and other resources from forests. Rural
agricultural systems are dependent on forests, wetlands, grasslands, rivers and lakes. The result is a movement of
natural resources from the wilderness ecosystems and agricultural sector to the urban user. The magnitude of the
shift of resources has been increasing in parallel with the growth of industry and urbanisation, and has changed
natural landscapes all over the world. In many cases, this has led to the rapid development of the urban economy,
but to a far slower economic development for rural people and serious impoverishment of the lives of wilderness
dwellers. The result is a serious inequality in the distribution of resources among human beings, which is both
unfair and unsustainable.
Earth’s Resources and Man: The resources on which mankind is dependent are provided by various sources or
‘spheres’.

1) Atmosphere
• Oxygen for human respiration (metabolic requirements).
• Oxygen for wild fauna in natural ecosystems and domestic animals used by man as food.
• Oxygen as a part of carbon dioxide, used for the growth of plants (in turn are used by man).

The atmosphere forms a protective shell over the earth. The lowest layer, the troposphere, the only part
warm enough for us to survive in, is only 12 kilometers thick. The stratosphere is 50 kilometers thick and contains a
layer of sulphates which is important for the formation of rain. It also contains a layer of ozone, which absorbs
ultra-violet light known to cause cancer and without which, no life could exist on earth. The atmosphere is not
uniformly warmed by the sun. This leads to air flows and variations in climate, temperature and rainfall in different
parts of the earth. It is a complex dynamic system. If its nature is disrupted it affects all mankind. Most air
pollutants have both global and regional effects.
Living creatures cannot survive without air even for a span of a few minutes. To continue to support life,
air must be kept clean. Major pollutants of air are created by industrial units that release various gases such as
carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and toxic fumes into the air. Air is also polluted by burning fossil fuels. The
buildup of carbon dioxide which is known as the ‘greenhouse effect’ in the atmosphere is leading to current global
warming. The growing number of scooters, motorcycles, cars, buses and trucks which run on fossil fuel (petrol and
diesel) is a major cause of air pollution in cities and along highways. Air pollution leads to acute and chronic
respiratory diseases such as various lung infections, asthma and even cancer.

2) Hydrosphere
• Clean water for drinking (a metabolic requirement for living processes).
• Water for washing and cooking.
• Water used in agriculture and industry.
• Food resources from the sea, including fish, crustacea, sea weed, etc.
• Food from fresh water sources, including fish, crustacea and aquatic plants.
• Water flowing down from mountain ranges harnessed to generate electricity in hydroelectric projects.

The hydrosphere covers three quarters of the earth’s surface. A major part of the hydrosphere is the
marine ecosystem in the ocean, while only a small part occurs in fresh water. Fresh water in rivers, lakes and
glaciers, is perpetually being renewed by a process of evaporation and rainfall. Some of this fresh water lies in
underground aquifers. Human activities such as deforestation create serious changes in the hydrosphere. Once
land is denuded of vegetation, the rain erodes the soil which is washed into the sea. Chemicals from industry and
sewage find their way into rivers and into the sea. Water pollution thus threatens the health of communities as all
our lives depend on the availability of clean water. This once plentiful resource is now becoming rare and
expensive due to pollution.

3) Lithosphere
• Soil, the basis for agriculture to provide us with food.
• Stone, sand and gravel, used for construction.
• Micronutrients in soil, essential for plant growth.
• Microscopic flora, small soil fauna and fungi in soil, important living organisms of the lithosphere, which
break down plant litter as well as animal wastes to provide nutrients for plants.
• A large number of minerals on which our industries are based.
• Oil, coal and gas, extracted from underground sources. It provides power for vehicles, agricultural
machinery, industry, and for our homes.

The lithosphere began as a hot ball of matter which formed the earth about 4.6 billion years ago. About
3.2 billion years ago, the earth cooled down considerably and a very special event took place - life began on our
planet. The crust of the earth is 6 or 7 kilometers thick and lies under the continents. Of the 92 elements in the
lithosphere only eight are common constituents of crustal rocks. Of these constituents, 47% is oxygen, 28% is
silicon, 8% is aluminium, 5% is iron, while sodium, magnesium, potassium and calcium constitute 4% each.
Together, these elements form about 200 common mineral compounds. Rocks, when broken down, form soil on
which man is dependent for his agriculture. Their minerals are also the raw material used in various industries.

4) Biosphere
• Food, from crops and domestic animals, providing human metabolic requirements.
• Food, for all forms of life which live as interdependent species in a community and form food chains in
nature on which man is dependent.
• Energy needs: Biomass fuel wood collected from forests and plantations, along with other forms of
organic matter, used as a source of energy.
• Timber and other construction materials.
This is the relatively thinnest layer on the earth in which life can exist. Within it the air, water, rocks and
soil and the living creatures, form structural and functional ecological units, which together can be considered as
one giant global living system, that of our Earth itself. Within this framework, those characterised by broadly
similar geography and climate, as well as communities of plant and animal life can be divided for convenience into
different biogeographical realms. These occur on different continents. Within these, smaller biogeographical units
can be identified on the basis of structural differences and functional aspects into distinctive recognizable
ecosystems, which give a distinctive character to a landscape or waterscape. Their easily visible and identifiable
characteristics can be described at different scales such as those of a country, a state, a district or even an
individual valley, hill range, river or lake. The simplest of these ecosystems to understand is a pond. It can be used
as a model to understand the nature of any other ecosystem and to appreciate the changes over time that are
seen in any ecosystem. The structural features of a pond include its size, depth and the quality of its water. The
periphery, the shallow part and the deep part of the pond, each provide specific conditions for different plant and
animal communities. Functionally, a variety of cycles such as the amount of water within the pond at different
times of the year, the quantity of nutrients flowing into the pond from the surrounding terrestrial ecosystem, all
affect the ‘nature’ of the pond.

Natural cycles between the spheres: All four spheres are closely inter-linked systems and are dependent on the
integrity of each other. Disturbing one of these spheres in our environment affects all the others. The linkages
between them are mainly in the form of cycles. For instance, the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere are all
connected through the hydrological cycle. Water evaporated from the hydrosphere (the seas and freshwater
ecosystems), forms clouds in the atmosphere. This becomes rain, which provides moisture for the lithosphere, on
which life depends. The rain also acts on rocks as an agent of erosion and over millions of years has created soil, on
which plant life grows. Atmospheric movements in the form of wind, break down rocks into soil. The most
sensitive and complex linkages are those between the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the lithosphere on the
one hand, with the millions of living organisms in the biosphere on the other. All living organisms which exist on
earth live only in the relatively thin layer of the lithosphere and hydrosphere that is present on the surface of land
and in the water. The biosphere which they form has countless associations with different parts of the three other
‘spheres’. It is therefore essential to understand the interrelationships of the separate entities soil, water, air and
living organisms, and to appreciate the value of preserving intact ecosystems as a whole.
Activity 1: Observe a nearby pond in different seasons and document the seasonal changes in it. One can
also observe changes in a river or the seasonal changes in a forest or grassland.

Activity 2: Take a simple object in daily use and track its components back to each of its spheres. Example:
this textbook: paper from wood - biosphere; Water for pulping - hydrosphere; Bleach to whiten paper - a
mineral from lithosphere.

2.2 Renewable and non-renewable resources

Ecosystems act as resource producers and processors. Solar energy is the main driving force of ecological systems,
providing energy for the growth of plants in forests, grasslands and aquatic ecosystems. A forest recycles its plant
material slowly by continuously returning its dead material, leaves, branches, etc. to the soil. Grasslands recycle
material much faster than forests as the grass dries up after the rains are over every year. All the aquatic
ecosystems are also solar energy dependent and have cycles of growth when plant life spreads and aquatic
animals breed. The sun also drives the water cycle. Our food comes from both natural and agricultural
ecosystems. Traditional agricultural ecosystems that depended on rainfall have been modified in recent times to
produce more and more food by the addition of extra chemicals and water from irrigation systems but are still
dependent on solar energy for the growth of crops. Moreover, modern agriculture creates a variety of
environmental problems, which ultimately lead to the formation of unproductive land. These include irrigation,
which leads to the development of saline soil, and the use of artificial fertilizers eventually ruin soil quality, and
pesticides, which are a health hazard for humans as well as destroying components vital to the long-term health of
agricultural ecosystems.
To manufacture consumer products, industry requires raw materials from nature, including water,
minerals and power. During the manufacturing process, the gases, chemicals and waste products pollute our
environment, unless the industry is carefully managed to clean up this mess.

2.2.1 Natural resources and associated problems- the unequal consumption of natural resources
A major part of natural resources are today consumed in the technologically advanced or ‘developed’ world,
usually termed ‘the North’. The ‘developing nations’ of ‘the South’, including India and China, also over use many
resources because of their greater human population. However, the consumption of resources per capita (per
individual) of the developed countries is up to 50 times greater than in most developing countries. Developed
countries produce over 75% of global industrial waste and greenhouse gases.
Energy from fossil fuels is consumed in relatively much greater quantities in developed countries.
Their per capita consumption of food too is much greater as well as their waste of enormous quantities of food
and other products, such as packaging material, used in the food industry. The USA for example with just 4% of the
world’s population consumes about 25% of the world’s resources. Producing animal food for human consumption
requires more land than growing crops. Thus, countries that are highly dependent on non-vegetarian diets need
much larger areas for pastureland than those where the people are mainly vegetarian.

Planning Land-use: Land itself is a major resource, needed for food production, animal husbandry, industry, and
for our growing human settlements. These forms of intensive land-use are frequently extended at the cost of ‘wild
lands’, our remaining forests, grasslands, wetlands and deserts. Thus it is essential to evolve a rational land-use
policy that examines how much land must be made available for different purposes and where it must be situated.
For instance, there are usually alternate sites at which industrial complexes or dams can be built, but a natural
wilderness cannot be recreated artificially. Scientists today believe that at least 10 percent of land and water
bodies of each ecosystem must be kept as wilderness for the long-term needs of protecting nature and natural
resources.
Land as a resource is now under serious pressure due to an increasing ‘land hunger’ - to produce
sufficient quantities of food for an exploding human population. It is also affected by degradation due to misuse.
Land and water resources are polluted by industrial waste and rural and urban sewage. They are increasingly being
diverted for short-term economic gains to agriculture and industry. Natural wetlands of great value are being
drained for agriculture and other purposes. Semi-arid land is being irrigated and overused. The most damaging
change in land-use is demonstrated by the rapidity with which forests have
vanished during recent times, both in India and the rest of the world. Forests provide us with a variety of services.
These include processes such as maintaining oxygen levels in the atmosphere, removal of carbon dioxide, control
over water regimes, and slowing down erosion and also produce products such as food, fuel, timber, fodder,
medicinal plants, etc. In the long-term, the loss of these is far greater than the short-term gains produced by
converting forested lands to other uses.

The need for sustainable lifestyles: The quality of human life and the quality of ecosystems on earth are indicators
of the sustainable use of resources. There are clear indicators of sustainable life-styles in human life.
• Increased longevity
• An increase in knowledge
• An enhancement of income.
These three together are known as the ‘Human development index’. The quality of the ecosystems have indicators
that are more difficult to assess.

• A stabilized population.
• The long term conservation of biodiversity.
• The careful long-term use of natural resources.
• The prevention of degradation and pollution of the environment.

2.2.2 Non-renewable resources

These are minerals that have been formed in the lithosphere over millions of years and constitute a closed system.
These non-renewable resources, once used, remain on earth in a different form and, unless recycled, become
waste material.
Non-renewable resources include fossil fuels such as oil and coal, which if extracted at the present rate,
will soon be totally used up. The end products of fossil fuels are in the form of heat and mechanical energy and
chemical compounds, which cannot be reconstituted as a resource.

2.2.3 Renewable resources

Though water and biological living resources are considered renewable. They are in fact renewable only within
certain limits. They are linked to natural cycles such as the water cycle.

• Fresh water (even after being used) is evaporated by the sun’s energy, forms water vapour and is
reformed in clouds and falls to earth as rain. However, water sources can be overused or wasted to
such an extent that they locally run dry. Water sources can be so heavily polluted by sewage and toxic
substances that it becomes impossible to use the water.
• Forests, once destroyed take thousands of years to grow again into fully developed natural ecosystems
with their full complement of species. Forests thus can be said to behave like non-renewable resources
if overused.
• Fish are today being over-harvested until the catch has become a fraction of the original resource and
the fish are incapable of breeding successfully to replenish the population.
• The output of agricultural land if mismanaged drops drastically.
• When the population of a species of plant or animal is reduced by human activities, until it cannot
reproduce fast-enough to maintain a viable number, the species becomes extinct.
• Many species are probably becoming extinct without us even knowing, and other linked species are
affected by their loss.

Activity 3: Utilisation of resources

The use of a resource begins with its collection, its processing into a useable product, and transport
through a delivery system, to the consumer who uses it. It also involves disposal of the waste
products produced at each step. Each step in resource use can affect the environment for better or
worse. The control of these steps is known as environmental management. Think of a resource you
use and track it through these steps.
Example: The cotton in the clothes you are wearing. At each step note:
• What other resources are needed at this step to move the resource you chose to the
next?
• What waste products are generated at that step?
• How are they likely to be disposed off?
• What pollutants are generated in the process?

a. Forest Resources
Use and overexploitation: Scientists estimate that India should ideally have 33 percent of its land under forests.
Today we have only about 12 percent. Thus, we not only need to protect the existing forests but also increase our
forest cover. People who live in or near forests know the value of forest resources first hand because their lives
and livelihoods depend directly on these resources. However, the rest of us also derive great benefits from the
forests which we are rarely aware of. The water we use depends on the existence of forests on the watersheds
around river valleys. Our homes, furniture and paper are made from wood from the forest. We use many
medicines that are based on forest produce. And we depend on the oxygen that plants give out and the removal of
carbon dioxide we breathe out from the air.
Forests once extended over large tracts of our country. People have used forests in our country for
thousands of years. As agriculture spread the forests were left in patches which were controlled mostly by the
tribal people. They hunted animals and gathered plants and lived entirely on forest resources. Deforestation
became a major concern in British times when a large amount of timber was extracted for building their ships. This
led the British to develop scientific forestry in India. They however alienated local people by creating Reserved and
Protected Forests which curtailed access to the resources. This led to a loss of stake in the conservation of the
forests which led to a gradual degradation and fragmentation of forests across the length and breadth of the
country.
Another period of overutilisation and forest degradation occurred in the early period following
independence as people felt that now that the British had gone they had a right to using our forests in any way
they pleased. The following years saw India’s residual forest wealth dwindle sharply. Timber extraction continued
to remain the Forest Department’s main concern up to the 1970s. The fact that forest degradation and
deforestation were creating a serious loss of the important functions of the forest beginning to override its
utilisation as a source of revenue from timber.

Deforestation: Where civilizations have looked after forests by using forest resources cautiously, they have
prospered, where forests were destroyed, the people were gradually impoverished. Today, logging and mining are
serious causes of loss of forests in our country and all over the world. Dams built for hydroelectric power or
irrigation have submerged forests and have displaced tribal people whose lives are
closely knit with the forests. This has become a serious cause of concern in India.
One of India’s serious environmental problems is forest degradation due to timber extraction and our
dependence on fuel-wood. A large number of poor rural people are still highly dependent on wood to cook their
meals and heat their homes. We have not been able to plant enough trees to support the need for timber and fuel-
wood.
The National Forest Policy of 1988 now gives an added importance to JFM (Joint Forest Management).
Another resolution in 1990 provided a formal structure for community participation through the formation of
Village Forest Committees. Based on these experiences, new JFM guidelines were issued in 2000. This stipulates
that at least 25 per cent of the income from the area must go to the community. From the initiation of the
program, until 2002, there were 63,618 JFM Committees managing over 140,953 sq. km of forest under JFM in 27
States in India. The States have tried a variety of approaches to JFM. The share for village forest committees ranges
from 25 per cent in Kerala to 100 per cent in Andhra Pradesh, 50 per cent in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Orissa and
Tripura. In many States 25 per cent of the revenue is used for village development. In many States non-timber
forest products (NTFPs) are available for people free of cost. Some States have stopped grazing completely; some
have rotational grazing schemes which have helped in forest regeneration.

Timber extraction, mining and construction of dams are invariably parts of the needs of a developing country. If
timber is overharvested, the ecological functions of the forest are lost. Unfortunately, forests are located in areas
where there are rich mineral resources. Forests also cover the steep embankments of river valleys, which are ideal
to develop hydel and irrigation projects. Thus, there is a constant conflict of interests between the conservation
interests of environmentalists and the Mining and Irrigation Departments. What needs to be understood is that
long-term ecological gains cannot be sacrificed for short-term economic gains that unfortunately lead to
deforestation. These forests where development projects are planned, can displace thousands of tribal people
who lose their homes when these plans are executed. This leads to high levels of suffering for which there is rarely
a satisfactory answer.

b. Water resources
The water-cycle, through evaporation and precipitation, maintains hydrological systems which form rivers and
lakes that support a variety of aquatic ecosystems. Wetlands are intermediate forms between terrestrial and
aquatic ecosystems and contain species of plants and animals that are highly moisture dependent. All aquatic
ecosystems are used by a large number of people for their daily needs such as drinking water, washing, cooking,
watering animals, and irrigating fields. The world depends on a limited quantity of freshwater. Water covers 70%
of the earth’s surface but only 3% of this is freshwater. Of this, 2% is in polar ice caps and only 1% is usable water
in rivers, lakes and subsoil aquifers. Only a fraction of this can be actually used. At a global level, 70% of water is
used for agriculture, about 25% for industry and only 5% for domestic purposes. However, this varies in different
countries and, industrialized countries use a greater percentage for industry. India uses 90% for agriculture, 7% for
industry and 3% for domestic purposes.
One of the greatest challenges facing the world in this century is the need to rethink the overall
management of water resources. The world population has passed the 6 billion mark. Based on the proportion of
young people in developing countries, this will continue to increase significantly during the next few decades. This
places enormous demands on the world’s limited freshwater supply. The total annual freshwater withdrawals
today are estimated at 3800 cubic kilometers, twice as much as just 50 years ago (World Commission on Dams,
2000). Studies indicate that a person needs a minimum of 20 to 40 liters of water per day for drinking and
sanitation. More than one billion people worldwide have no access to clean water, and to many more, supplies are
unreliable. Local conflicts are already spreading to states, for example, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the waters
of the Krishna.
India is expected to face critical levels of water stress by 2025. At the global level 31 countries are already
short of water and by 2025 there will be 48 countries facing serious water shortages. The UN has estimated that by
the year 2050, 4 billion people will be seriously affected by water shortages. This will lead to multiple conflicts
between countries over the sharing of water. Around 20 major cities in India face chronic or interrupted water
shortages. There are 100 countries that share the waters of 13 large rivers and lakes. The upstream countries could
starve the downstream nations leading to political unstable areas across the world. Examples are Ethopia, which is
upstream on the Nile and Egypt, which is downstream and is highly dependent on the Nile. International accords
that will look at a fair distribution of water in such areas will become critical to world peace. India and Bangladesh
already have a negotiated agreement on the use of water of the Ganges.

Overutilization and pollution of surface and groundwater: With the growing human population, there is an
increasing need for larger amounts of water to fulfill a variety of basic needs. Today, in many areas this
requirement cannot be met. Overutilization of water occurs at various levels. Most people use more water than
they really need. Most of us waste water during a bath by using a shower or during washing of clothes. Many
agriculturists use more water than necessary to grow crops. There are many ways in which farmers can use less
water without reduction in yields such as the use of drip irrigation systems.
Agriculture also pollutes surface-water and underground water stores by the excessive use of chemical
fertilizers and pesticides. Methods such as the use of biomass as fertilizer and non toxic pesticides such as neem
products and using integrated pest management systems reduce the agricultural pollution of surface and
groundwater.
Industry tends to maximise short-term economic gains by not bothering about its liquid waste and
releasing it into streams, rivers and the sea. In the longer term, as people become more conscious of using ‘green
products’ made by eco-sensitive industries, the polluter’s products may be avoided. The polluting industry that
does not care for the environment and pays off bribes to get away from the cost needed to use effluent treatment
plants may eventually be caught, punished and even closed down. Public awareness may increasingly put
pressures on industry to produce only eco-friendly products which are already gaining in popularity. As people
begin to learn about the serious health hazards caused by pesticides in their food, public awareness can begin
putting pressures on farmers to reduce the use of chemicals that are injurious to health.

Global climate change: Changes in climate at a global level caused by increasing air pollution have now begun to
affect our climate. In some regions global warming and the El Nino winds have created unprecedented storms. In
other areas, they lead to long droughts. Everywhere the ‘greenhouse effect’ due to atmospheric pollution is
leading to increasingly erratic and unpredictable climatic effects. This has seriously affected regional hydrological
conditions.
Floods: Floods have been a serious environmental hazard for centuries. However, the havoc raised by rivers
overflowing their banks has become progressively more damaging, as people have deforested catchment areas
and intensified use of river flood plains that once acted as safety valves. Wetlands in flood plains are nature’s flood
control systems into which overfilled rivers could spill and act like a temporary sponge holding the water, and
preventing fast flowing water from damaging surrounding land.
Deforestation in the Himalayas causes floods that year after year kill people, damage crops and destroy
homes in the vicinity of the Ganges and its tributaries, and the Bramhaputra. Rivers change their courses during
floods and tons of valuable soil is eroded into the sea. As the forests are degraded, rainwater no longer percolates
slowly into the subsoil but runs off down the mountainside bearing large amounts of topsoil. This blocks rivers
temporarily but gives way as the pressure mounts allowing enormous quantities of water to wash suddenly down
into the plains below. There, rivers swell, burst their banks and flood waters spread to engulf peoples’ farms and
homes.

Drought: In most arid regions of the world, rains are unpredictable. This leads to periods when there is a serious
scarcity of water to drink, use in farms, or provide for urban and industrial use. Drought-prone areas are thus faced
with irregular periods of famine. CASE STUDY
Agriculturists have no income in these bad years, and as they Water pollution - Nepal
have no steady income, they have a constant fear of droughts. The Narayani River of Nepal has been
India has ‘Drought-Prone Areas Development Programs’, which polluted by factories located on its
are used in such areas to buffer the effects of droughts. Under bank. This has endangered fish,
these schemes, people are given wages in bad years to build dolphins, crocodiles and other flora
roads, minor irrigation works and plantation programs. and fauna of the region.
Drought has been a major problem in our country
especially in arid regions. It is an unpredictable climatic condition and occurs due to the failure of one or more
monsoons. It varies in frequency in different parts of our country. While it is not feasible to prevent the failure of
the monsoon, good environmental management can reduce its ill effects. The scarcity of water during drought
years affects homes, agriculture and industry. It also leads to food shortages and malnutrition which especially
affects children.
Several measures can be taken to minimise the serious impacts of a drought. However, this must
be done as a preventive measure so that if the monsoons fail its impact on local people’s lives is minimised. In
years when the monsoon is adequate, we use up the good supply of water without trying to
conserve it and use the water judiciously. Thus, during a year when the monsoons are poor, there is no water even
for drinking in the drought area.
One of the factors that worsens the effect of drought is deforestation. Once hill slopes are denuded of
forest cover, the rainwater rushes down the rivers and is lost as run-off. Forest cover permits water to be held in
the area permitting it to percolate into the ground. This recharges the underground stores of water in natural
aquifers. This can be used in years of drought if the stores have been filled during a good monsoon. If water from
the underground stores is overused, the water table drops and the vegetation suffers. This soil and water
management and afforestation are long-term measures that reduce the impact of droughts.

Water for Agriculture and Power Generation: India’s increasing demand for water for intensive irrigated
agriculture, for generating electricity, and for consumption in urban and industrial centers, has been met by
creating large dams. Irrigated areas increased from 40 million ha. in 1900 to 100 million ha. in 1950 and to 271
million ha. by 1998. Reservoirs support 30 to 40% of this area. Although reservoirs ensure a year-round supply of
water for domestic use, provide extra water for agriculture, industry, hydropower generation, they have several
serious environmental problems. They alter river flows, change nature’s flood control mechanisms such as
wetlands and flood plains, and destroy the lives of local people and the habitats of wild plant and animal species.
Irrigation to support cash crops like sugarcane produces an unequal distribution of water. Large landholders on the
canals get the lion’s share of water, while poor, small farmers get less and are seriously affected.
Sustainable water management: ‘Save water’ campaigns are essential to make people everywhere aware of the
dangers of water scarcity. A number of measures need to be taken for the better management of the world’s
water resources. These include measures such as:
• Building several small reservoirs instead of few mega projects.
• Develop small catchment dams and protect wetlands.
• Soil management, micro catchment development and afforestation permits recharging of underground
aquifers thus reducing the need for large reservoirs.
• Treating and recycling municipal waste water for agricultural use.
• Preventing leakages from dams and canals.
• Preventing loss in Municipal pipes.
• Effective rainwater harvesting in urban environments.
• Water conservation measures in agriculture such as using drip irrigation.
• Pricing water at its real value makes people use it more responsibly and efficiently and reduces water
wasting.
• In deforested areas where land has been degraded, soil management by bunding along the hill slopes
and making ‘nala’ plugs, can help retain moisture and make it possible to re-vegetate degraded areas.

Managing a river system is best done by leaving its course as undisturbed as possible. Reservoirs and
canals lead to major floods in the monsoon and the drainage of wetlands seriously affects areas that get flooded
when there is high rainfall.

Reservoirs/Dams: Today there are more than 45,000 large reservoirs/dams around the world, which play an
important role in communities and economies that harness these water resources for their economic
development. Current estimates suggest some 30-40% of irrigated land worldwide relies on reservoirs.
Hydropower, another contender for the use of stored water, currently supplies 19% of the world’s total
electric power supply and is used in over 150 countries. The world’s two most populous countries - China and India
- have built around 57% of the world’s largest dams.

Problems of Reservoir/Dam construction

• Fragmentation and physical transformation of rivers.
• Serious impacts on riverine ecosystems.
• Social consequences of large dams due to displacement of people.
• Water logging and salinisation of surrounding lands.
• Dislodging animal populations, damaging their habitat and cutting off their migration routes.
• Fishing and travel by boat disrupted.
• The emission of green house gases from reservoirs due to rotting vegetation and carbon inflows from
the catchment is a recently identified impact.
Large dams have had serious impacts on the lives, livelihoods, cultures and spiritual existence of
indigenous and tribal peoples. They have suffered disproportionately from the negative impacts of dams and often
been excluded from sharing the benefits. In India, of the 16 to 18 million people displaced by dams, 40 to 50% are
tribal people, who account for only 8% of our nation’s one billion people. Conflicts over dams have heightened in
the last two decades because of their social and environmental impacts and failure to achieve targets for sticking
to their costs as well as achieving promised benefits. Recent examples show how failure to provide a transparent
process that includes effective participation of local people has prevented affected people from playing an active
role in debating the pros and cons of the project and its alternatives. The loss of traditional, local controls over
equitable distribution remains a major source of conflict.
In India, a national assessment of dam projects cleared in the 1980s and 90s shows that in 90% of cases
the project authorities have not fulfilled the environmental conditions under which environmental clearance was
given by the GoI (Government of India) under the EPA (Environment Protection Act) of 1986.
Activity 4: How much water is needed by one person? Several international agencies and experts have
proposed that 50 liters per person per day covers basic human water requirements for drinking, sanitation,
bathing and food preparation. Estimate your average daily consumption.
c. Mineral Resources
A mineral is a naturally occurring substance of definite chemical composition and identifiable physical
properties. An ore is a mineral or combination of minerals from which a useful substance, such as a metal, can be
extracted and used to manufacture a useful product. Minerals are formed over a period of millions of years in the
earth’s crust. Iron, aluminum, zinc, manganese and copper are important raw materials for industrial use.
Important non-metal resources include coal, salt, clay, cement and silica. Stone used for building material, such as
granite, marble, limestone, constitute another category of minerals. Minerals with special properties that humans
value for their aesthetic and ornamental value are gems such as diamonds, emeralds, rubies. The luster of gold,
silver and platinum is used for ornaments. Minerals in the form of oil, gas and coal were formed when ancient
plants and animals were converted into underground fossil fuels. Minerals and their ores need to be extracted
from the earth’s interior so that they can be used. This process is known as mining. Mining operations generally
progress through four stages:
(1) Prospecting: Searching for minerals.
(2) Exploration: Assessing the size, shape, location, and economic value of the deposit.
(3) Development: Work of preparing access to the deposit so that the minerals can be extracted from it.
(4) Exploitation: Extracting the minerals from the mines.
CASE STUDY
Sardar Sarovar Project: The World Bank’s withdrawal from the Sardar Sarovar Project in India in 1993 was a
result of the demands of local people threatened with the loss of their livelihoods and homes in the
submergence area. This dam in Gujarat on the Narmada has displaced thousands of tribal folk, whose lives
and livelihoods were linked to the river, the forests and their agricultural lands. While they and the fishermen
at the estuary, have lost their homeland, rich farmers downstream will get water for agriculture. The
question is why should the local tribals be made homeless, displaced and relocated to benefit other people?
Why should the less fortunate be made to bear the costs of development for better-off farmers? It is a
question of social and economic equity as well as the enormous environmental losses, including loss of the
biological diversity of the inundated forests in the Narmada valley.

In the past, mineral deposits were discovered by prospectors in areas where mineral deposits in the form
of veins were exposed on the surface. Today, however, prospecting and exploration is done by teams of geologists,
mining engineers, geophysicists, and geochemists who work together to discover new deposits. Modern
prospecting methods include the use of sophisticated instruments like GIS (Geographic Information System) to
survey and study the geology of the area. The method of mining has to be determined depending on whether the
ore or mineral deposit is nearer the surface or deep within the earth. The topography of the region and the
physical nature of the ore deposit is studied.
Mines are of two types - surface (open cut or strip mines) or deep or shaft mines. Coal, metals and non-
metalliferous minerals are all mined differently depending on the above criteria. The method chosen for mining
will ultimately depend on how maximum yield may be obtained under existing conditions at a minimum cost, with
the least danger to the mining personnel. Most minerals need to be processed before they become usable. Thus
‘technology’ is dependent on both the presence of resources and the energy necessary to make them ‘usable’.

Mine safety: Mining is a hazardous occupation, and the safety of mine workers is an important environmental
consideration of the industry. Surface mining is less hazardous than underground mining. Metal mining is less
hazardous than coal mining. In all underground mines, rock and roof falls, flooding, and inadequate ventilation are
the greatest hazards. Large explosions have occurred in coal mines, killing many miners. More miners have
suffered from disasters due to the use of explosives in metal mines. Mining poses several long-term occupational
hazards to the miners. Dust produced during mining operations is injurious to health and causes a lung disease
known as black lung or pneumoconiosis. Fumes generated by incomplete dynamite explosions are extremely
poisonous. Methane gas, emanating from coal strata, is hazardous to health although not poisonous in the
concentrations usually encountered in mine air. Radiation is a hazard in uranium mines.
Environmental problems: Mining operations are considered one of the main sources of environmental
degradation. The extraction of all these products from the lithosphere has a variety of side effects. Depletion of
available land due to mining, waste from industries, conversion of land to industry and pollution of land, water and
air by industrial wastes, are environmental side effects of the use of these non-renewable resources. Public
awareness of this problem is of a global nature and government actions

CASE STUDY
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many as 70 mines operate in close proximity to the forest.
Today our food comes almost entirely from agriculture, animal husbandry and fishing. Although India is self-
sufficient in food production, it is only because of modern patterns of agriculture that are unsustainable and which
pollute our environment with excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides. The FAO (Food and Agriculture
Organization) defines sustainable agriculture as that which conserves land, water and plant and animal genetic
resources, does not degrade the environment and is economically viable and socially acceptable. Most of our large
farms grow single crops (monoculture). If this crop is hit by a pest, the entire crop can be devastated, leaving the
farmer with no income during the year. On the other hand, if the farmer uses traditional varieties and grows
several different crops, the chance of complete failure is lowered considerably. Many studies have shown that one
can use alternatives to inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. This is known as Integrated Crop Management.

World food problems: In many developing countries where populations are expanding rapidly, the production of
food is unable to keep pace with the growing demand. Food production in 64 of the 105 developing countries is
lagging behind their population growth levels. These countries are unable to produce more food, or do not have
the financial means to import it. India is one of the countries that have been able to produce enough food by
cultivating a large proportion of its arable land through irrigation. The Green Revolution of the 60’s reduced
starvation in the country. However, many of the technologies we have adopted to achieve this are now being
questioned.
• Our fertile soils are being exploited faster than they can recuperate.
• Forests, grasslands and wetlands have been converted to agricultural use, which has led to serious
ecological questions.
• Our fish resources, both marine and inland, show evidence of exhaustion.
• There are great disparities in the availability of nutritious food.
Some communities such as tribal people still face serious food problems leading to malnutrition especially
among women and children. These issues bring in new questions as to how demands will be met in future even
with a slowing of population growth. Today the world is seeing a changing trend in dietary habits. As living
standards are improving, people are eating more non-vegetarian food. As people
change from eating grain to meat, the world’s demand for feed for livestock based on agriculture increases as well.
This uses more land per unit of food produced and the result is that the world’s poor do not get enough to eat.
Women play an extremely vital role in food production as well as cooking the meal and feeding children. In most
rural communities they have the least exposure to technical training and to health workers trained in
teaching/learning on issues related to nutritional aspects. Women and girls frequently receive less food than the
men. These disparities need to be corrected.
In India there is a shortage of cultivable productive land. Thus, farm sizes are too small to support
a family on farm produce alone. With each generation, farms are being subdivided further. Poor environmental
agricultural practices such as slash and burn, shifting cultivation, or ‘rab’ (woodash) cultivation degrade forests.
Globally 5 to 7 million hectares of farmland is degraded each year. Loss of nutrients and overuse of agricultural
chemicals are major factors in land degradation. Water scarcity is an important aspect of poor agricultural outputs.
Salinization and water logging has affected a large amount of agricultural land worldwide. Loss of genetic diversity
in crop plants is another issue that is leading to a fall in agricultural produce. Rice, wheat and corn are the staple
foods of two thirds of the world’s people. As wild relatives of crop plants in the world’s grasslands, wetlands and
other natural habitats are being lost, the ability to enhance traits that are resistant to diseases, salinity, etc. is lost.
Genetic engineering is an untried and risky alternative to traditional cross breeding.
Food Security: It is estimated that 18 million people worldwide, most of whom are children, die each year due to
starvation or malnutrition, and many others suffer a variety of dietary deficiencies. The earth can only supply a
limited amount of food. If the world’s carrying capacity to produce food cannot meet the needs of a growing
population, anarchy and conflict will follow. Thus, food security is closely linked with population control through
the family welfare program. It is also linked to the availability of water for farming. Food security is only possible if
food is equitably distributed to all. Many of us waste a large amount of food carelessly. This eventually places great
stress on our environmental resources. A major concern is the support needed for small farmers so that they
remain farmers rather than shifting to urban centers as unskilled industrial workers. International trade policies in
regard to an improved flow of food across national borders from those who have surplus to those who have a
deficit in the developing world is another issue that is a concern for planners who deal with International trade
concerns. ‘Dumping’ of underpriced foodstuffs produced in the developed world, onto markets in under-
developed countries undermines prices and forces farmers there to adopt unsustainable practices to compete.

Fisheries: Fish is an important protein food in many parts of the world. This includes marine and freshwater fish.
While the supply of food from fisheries increased phenomenally between 1950 and 1990, in several parts of the
world fish catch has since dropped due to overfishing. In 1995 FAO reported that 44% of the world’s fisheries are
fully or heavily exploited, 16% are already overexploited, 6% are depleted, and only 3% are gradually recovering.
Canada had to virtually close down cod fishing in the 1990s due to depletion of fish reserves. Modern fishing
technologies using mechanized trawlers and small meshed nets lead directly to overexploitation, which is not
sustainable. It is evident that fish have to breed successfully and need to have time to grow if the yield has to be
used sustainably. The worst hit are the small traditional fishermen who are no match for organized trawlers.

Loss of Genetic diversity: There are 50,000 known edible plants documented worldwide. Of these only 15 varieties
produce 90% of the world’s food. Modern agricultural practices have resulted in a serious loss of genetic variability
of crops. India’s distinctive traditional varieties of rice alone are said to have numbered between 30 and 50
thousand. Most of these have been lost to the farmer during the last few decades as multinational seed companies
push a few commercial types. This creates a risk to our food security, as farmers can loose all their produce due to
a rapidly spreading disease. A cereal that has multiple varieties growing in different locations does not permit the
rapid spread of a disease. The most effective method to introduce desirable traits into crops is by using
characteristics found in the wild relatives of crop plants. As the wilderness shrinks, these varieties are rapidly
disappearing. Once they are lost, their desirable characteristics cannot be introduced when found necessary in
future. Ensuring long-term food security may depend on conserving wild relatives of crop plants in National Parks
and Wildlife Sanctuaries. If plant genetic losses worldwide are not slowed down, some estimates show that as
many as 60,000 plant species, which accounts for 25% of the world’s total, will be lost by the year 2025. The most
economical way to prevent this is by expanding the network and coverage of our Protected Areas. Collections as
germplasm, seed banks and tissue culture facilities, are other possible ways to prevent extinction but are
extremely expensive. Scientists now believe that the world will soon need a second green revolution to meet our
future demands of food based on a new ethic of land and water management that must be based on values which
include environmental sensitivity, equity, biodiversity conservation of cultivars and insitu preservation of wild
relatives of crop plants. This must not only provide food for all, but also work out more equitable distribution of
both food and water, reduce agricultural dependence on the use of fertilizers and pesticides (which have long-
term ill effects on human well-being) and provide an increasing support for preserving wild relatives of crop plants
in Protected Areas.
Pollution of water sources, land degradation and desertification must be rapidly reversed. Adopting soil
conservation measures, using appropriate farming techniques, especially on hill slopes, enhancing the soil with
organic matter, rotating crops and managing watersheds at the micro level are a key to agricultural production to
meet future needs. Most importantly, food supply is closely linked to the effectiveness of population control
programs worldwide. The world needs better and sustainable methods of food production which is an important
aspect of landuse management.

Alternate food sources: Food can be innovatively produced if we break out of the current agricultural patterns.
This includes working on new avenues to produce food, such as using forests for their multiple non-wood forest
products, which can be used for food if harvested sustainably. This includes fruit, mushrooms, sap, gum, etc. This
takes time, as people must develop a taste for these new foods.

CASE STUDY
Israel began using drip irrigation systems as it is short of water. With this technique, farmers have been able
to improve the efficiency of irrigation by 95%. Over a 20-year period, Israel’s food production doubled
without an increase in the use of water for agriculture.

In India, some traditional communities in urban and semi urban towns used to grow their own vegetables
in backyards on wastewater from their own homes. Calcutta releases its waste water into surrounding lagoons in
which fish are reared and the water is used for growing vegetables.
Medicines, both traditional and modern, can be harvested sustainably from forests. Madagaskar’s Rosy
Periwinkle used for childhood leukemia’s and Taxol from Western Yew from the American Northwest as an
anticancer drug are examples of forest products used extensively in modern medicine. Without care, commercial
exploitation can lead to early extinction of such plants.
Using unfamiliar crops such as Nagli, which are grown on poor soil on hill slopes is another option. This
crop grown in the Western Ghats now has no market and is thus rarely grown. Only local people use this nutritious
crop themselves. It is thus not as extensively cultivated as in the past. Popularising this crop could add to food
availability from marginal lands. Several crops can be grown in urban settings, including vegetables and fruit which
can be grown on waste household water and fertilizers from vermicomposting pits.
Several foods can be popularized from yet unused seafood products such as seaweed as long as this is
done at sustainable levels. Educating women about nutrition, who are more closely involved with feeding the
family, is an important aspect of supporting the food needs of many developing countries. Integrated Pest
Management includes preserving pest predators, using pest resistant seed varieties and reducing the use of
chemical fertilizers.

e. Energy resources
Energy is defined by physicists as the capacity to do work. Energy is found on our planet in a variety of forms, some
of which are immediately useful to do work, while others require a process of transformation.
The sun is the primary source of energy to our lives. We use it directly for its warmth and through various natural
processes that provide us with food, water, fuel and shelter. The sun’s rays power the growth of plants, which
form our food material, give off oxygen which we breathe in and take up carbon dioxide that we breathe out.
Energy from the sun evaporates water from oceans, rivers and lakes, to form clouds that turn into rain. Today’s
fossil fuels were once the forests that grew in prehistoric times due to the energy of the sun.
Chemical energy, contained in chemical compounds is released when they are broken down by animals in
the presence of oxygen. In India, manual labour is still extensively used to get work done in agricultural systems,
and domestic animals used to pull carts and ploughs.
Electrical energy produced in several ways, powers transport, artificial lighting, agriculture and industry.
This comes from hydel power based on the water-cycle that is powered by the sun’s energy that supports
evaporation, or from thermal power stations powered by fossil fuels.
Nuclear energy is held in the nucleus of an atom and is now harnessed to develop electrical energy. We
use energy for household use, agriculture, production of industrial goods and for running transport. Modern
agriculture uses chemical fertilizers, which require large amounts of energy during their
manufacture. Industry uses energy to power manufacturing units and the urban complexes that support it. Energy-
demanding roads and railway lines are built to transport products from place to place and to reach raw materials
in mines and forests. No energy related technology is completely ‘risk free’ and unlimited demands on energy
increase this risk factor many fold. All energy use creates heat and contributes to atmospheric temperature. Many
forms of energy release carbon dioxide and lead to global warming. Nuclear energy plants have caused enormous
losses to the environment due to the leakage of nuclear material. The inability to effectively manage and safely
dispose of nuclear waste is a serious global concern. At present almost 2 billion people worldwide have no access
to electricity at all. While more people will require electrical energy, those who do have access to it continue to
increase their individual requirements. In addition, a large proportion of energy from electricity is wasted during
transmission as well as at the user level. It is broadly accepted that long-term trends in energy use should be
towards a cleaner global energy system that is less carbon intensive and less reliant on finite non-renewable
energy sources. It is estimated that the currently used methods of using renewable energy and non renewable
fossil fuel sources together will be insufficient to meet foreseeable global demands for power generation beyond
the next 50 to 100 years. Thus, when we waste energy, we are contributing to a major environmental disaster. We
all need to become responsible energy users. An electrical light that is burning unnecessarily is a contributor to
environmental degradation.

Growing energy needs: Energy has always been closely linked to man’s economic growth and development.
Present strategies for development that have focused on rapid economic growth have used energy utilization as an
index of economic development. This index however, does not take into account the long-term ill-effects on
society of excessive energy utilisation. In 1998, the World Resources Institute found that the average American
uses 24 times the energy used by an Indian. Between 1950 and 1990, the world’s energy needs increased four fold.
The world’s demand for electricity has doubled over the last 22 years! The world’s total primary energy
consumption in 2000 was 9096 million tons of oil. A global average per capita that works out to be 1.5 tons of oil.
Electricity is at present the fastest growing form of end-use energy worldwide. By 2005 the Asia-Pacific region was
expected to surpass North America in energy consumption and by 2020 is expected to consume some 40% more
energy than North America. For almost 200 years, coal was the primary energy source fuelling the industrial
revolution in the 19th century. At the close of the 20th century, oil accounted for 39% of the world’s commercial
energy consumption, followed by coal (24%) and natural gas (24%), while nuclear (7%) and hydro/renewables (6%)
accounted for the rest.
Among the commercial energy sources used in India, coal is a predominant source accounting for 55% of
energy consumption estimated in 2001, followed by oil (31%), natural gas (8%), hydro (5%) and nuclear (1%). In
India, biomass (mainly wood and dung) accounts for almost 40% of primary energy supply. While coal continues to
remain the dominant fuel for electricity generation, nuclear power has been increasingly used since the 1970s and
1980s and the use of natural gas has increased rapidly in the 80s and 90s.

Types of energy: There are three main types of energy; those classified as non-renewable; those that are said to
be renewable; and nuclear energy, which uses such small quantities of raw material (uranium) that supplies are to
all effect, limitless. However, this classification is inaccurate because several of the renewable sources, if not used
‘sustainably’, can be depleted more quickly than they can be renewed.

Non-renewable energy: To produce electricity from non-renewable resources the material must be ignited. The
fuel is placed in a well contained area and set on fire. The heat generated turns water to steam, which moves
through pipes, to turn the blades of a turbine. This converts magnetism into electricity, which we use in various
appliances. Non-Renewable Energy Sources: These consist of the mineral based hydrocarbon fuels coal, oil and
natural gas, that were formed from ancient prehistoric forests. These are called ‘fossil fuels’ because they are
formed after plant life is fossilized. At the present rate of extraction there is enough coal for a long time to come.
Oil and gas resources however are likely to be used up within the next 50 years. When these fuels are burnt, they
produce waste products that are
released into the atmosphere as gases such as carbon dioxide, oxides of sulphur, nitrogen, and carbon monoxide,
all causes of air pollution. These have led to lung problems in an enormous number of people all over the world,
and have also affected buildings like the Taj Mahal and destroyed many forests and lakes due to acid rain. Many of
these gases also act like a ‘green house’ letting sunlight in and trapping the heat inside. This leads to global
warming, a raise in global temperature, increased drought in some areas, floods in other regions, the melting of
icecaps, and a rise in sea levels, which is slowly submerging coastal belts all over the world. Warming the seas also
leads to the death of sensitive organisms such as corals.

Oil and its environmental impacts: India’s oil reserves which are being used at present lie off the coast of Mumbai
and in Assam. Most of our natural gas is linked to oil and, because there is no distribution system, it is just burnt
off. This wastes nearly 40% of the available gas. The processes of oil and natural gas drilling, processing, transport
and utilisation have serious environmental consequences, such as leaks in which air and water are polluted and
accidental fires that may go on burning for days or weeks before the fire can be controlled. During refining oil,
solid waste such as salts and grease are produced which also damage the environment. Oil slicks are caused at sea
from offshore oil wells, cleaning of oil tankers and due to shipwrecks. The most well-known disaster occurred
when the Exxon Valdez sank in 1989 and birds, sea otters, seals, fish and other marine life along the coast of Alaska
was seriously affected.
Oil powered vehicles emit carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide and
particulate matter which is a major cause of air pollution especially in cities with heavy traffic density. Leaded
petrol, leads to neuro damage and reduces attention spans. Running petrol vehicles with unleaded fuel has been
achieved by adding catalytic converters on all the new cars, but unleaded fuel contains benzene and butadene
which are known to be carcinogenic compounds. Delhi, which used to have serious smog problems due to traffic,
has been able to reduce this health hazard by changing a large number of its vehicles to CNG (Compressed Natural
Gas), which contains methane. Dependence on dwindling fossil fuel resources, especially oil, results in political
tension, instability and war. At present 65 percent of the world’s oil reserves are located in the Middle East.

Coal and its environmental impacts: Coal is the world’s single largest contributor of ‘green house’ gases and is one
of the most important causes of global warming. Many coal-based power generation plants are not fitted with
devices such as electrostatic precipitators to reduce emissions of suspended particulate matter (SPM) which is a
major contributor to air pollution. Burning coal also produces oxides of sulphur and nitrogen which, combined with
water vapour, lead to ‘acid rain’. This kills forest vegetation, and damages architectural heritage sites, pollutes
water and affects human health.
Thermal power stations that use coal produce waste in the form of ‘fly ash’. Large dumps are required to
dispose off this waste material, while efforts have been made to use it for making bricks. The transport of large
quantities of fly ash and its eventual dumping are costs that have to be included in calculating the cost-benefits of
thermal power.

CASE STUDY
Oil related disasters: During the Gulf War, oil installations burned for weeks polluting the air with poisonous
gasses. The fires wasted 5 million barrels of oil and produced over a million tons of airborne pollutants,
including sulphur dioxide, a major cause of acid rain. The gases moved to a height of 3 km and spread as far
as India. Oil also polluted coastlines, killing birds and fish.

CASE STUDY
The Exxon Valdez was wrecked in Prince William Sound in Alaska in 1989 and polluted large parts of the
surrounding seas.

Renewable energy
Renewable energy systems use resources that are constantly replaced and are usually less polluting. Examples
include hydropower, solar, wind, and geothermal (energy from the heat inside the earth). We also get renewable
energy from burning trees and even garbage as fuel and processing other plants into bio-fuels. One day, all our
homes may get their energy from the sun or the wind. Your car’s gas tank will use bio-fuel. Your garbage might
contribute to your city’s energy supply. Renewable energy technologies will improve the efficiency and cost of
energy systems. We may reach the point when we may no longer rely mostly on fossil fuel energy.

CASE STUDY
Nearly 50% of the world’s population is dependent on fuel wood as a source of energy. This is obvious in our
own country, which has lost a large proportion of its forest cover as our population expands and burns
enormous amounts of wood. Rural women, and even women from the lower economic strata in towns, still
have to spend a large part of their lives collecting fuel wood. To overcome this, various types of fuel-efficient
stoves (‘chulas’) can burn wood extremely slowly and do not waste the heat, and also produce less smoke and
ash than normal ‘chulas’. There have also been several efforts to grow fuel-wood by involving local people in
these efforts. Examples include Social Forestry, Farm Forestry and Joint Forestry Management.

Hydroelectric Power
This uses water flowing down a natural gradient to turn turbines to generate electricity known as ‘hydroelectric
power’ by constructing dams across rivers. Between 1950 and 1970, Hydropower generation worldwide increased
seven times. The long life of hydropower plants, the renewable nature of the energy source, very low operating
and maintenance costs, and absence of inflationary pressures as in fossil fuels, are some of its advantages.

Drawbacks: Although hydroelectric power has led to economic progress around the world, it has created serious
ecological problems.
• To produce hydroelectric power, large areas of forest and agricultural lands are submerged. These lands
traditionally provided a livelihood for local tribal people and farmers. Conflicts over land use are inevitable.
• Silting of the reservoirs (especially as a result of deforestation) reduces the life of the hydroelectric power
installations.
• Water is required for many other purposes besides power generation. These include domestic requirements,
growing agricultural crops and for industry. This gives rise to conflicts.
• The use of rivers for navigation and fisheries becomes difficult once the water is dammed for generation of
electricity.
• Resettlement of displaced persons is a problem for which there is no ready solution. The opposition to many
large hydroelectric schemes is growing as most dam projects have been unable to resettle people that were
affected and displaced.
• In certain regions large dams can induce seismic activity which will result in earthquakes. There is a great
possibility of this occurring around the Tehri dam in the Himalayan foothills.
Shri Sunderlal Bahuguna, the initiator of the Chipko Movement has fought against the Tehri Dam for
several years. With large dams causing social problems, there has been a trend to develop small hydroelectric
generation units. Multiple small dams have less impact on the environment. China has the largest number of these
- 60,000, generating 13,250 megawatts, i.e., 30% of China’s electricity. Sweden, the US, Italy and France also have
developed small dams for electrical power generation. The development of small hydroelectric power units could
become a very important resource in India, which has steeply falling rivers and the economic capability and
technical resources to exploit them.
CASE STUDY
In 1882, the first Hydroelectric power dam was built in Appleton, Wisconsin. In India the first hydroelectric
power dams were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s by the Tatas in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra.
Jamshedjee Tata, a great visionary who developed industry in India in the 1800s, wished to have a clean
source of energy to run cotton and textile mills in Bombay (now Mumbai) as he found people were getting
respiratory infections due to coal driven mills. He thus asked the British Government to permit him to
develop dams in the Western Ghats to generate electricity. The four dams are the Andhra, Shirowata, Valvan
and Mulshi hydel dams. An important feature of the Tata power projects is that they use the high rainfall in
the hills as storage areas. While the rivers flowing eastwards from the Western Ghats are dammed at the
foothills near the Deccan plateau, the water is tunnelled through the crest of the Ghats to drop several
hundred meters to the coastal belt. Large turbines in the power plants generate electricity for Mumbai and
its giant industrial belt.

CASE STUDY
Narmada Project: The Narmada Bachao Andolan in India is an example of a movement against large dams.
The gigantic Narmada River Project has affected the livelihoods of hundreds of extremely poor forest
dwellers. The rich landholders downstream from the Sardar Sarovar dam will derive the maximum economic
benefit, whereas the poor tribal people have lost their homes and traditional way of life. The dam will also
destroy the livelihood of fishermen at the estuary. The disastrous impact that this project has on the lives of
the poor, and the way in which they are being exploited, need to be clearly understood.

Solar energy: In one hour, the sun pours as much energy onto the earth as we use in a whole year. If it were
possible to harness this colossal quantum of energy, humanity would need no other source of energy. Today we
have developed several methods of collecting this energy for heating water and generating electricity.
Solar heating for homes: Modern housing that uses air conditioning and/ or heating are extremely energy
dependant. A passive solar home or building is designed to collect the sun’s heat through large, south-facing glass
windows. In solar heated buildings, sunspaces are built on the south side of the structure which act as large heat
absorbers. The floors of sunspaces are usually made of tiles or bricks that absorb heat throughout the day, then
release heat at night when its cold. In energy efficient architecture the sun, water and wind are used to heat a
building when the weather is cold and to cool it in summer. This is based on design and building material. Thick
walls of stone or mud were used in traditional architecture as an insulator. Small doors and windows kept direct
sunlight and heat out. Deeply set glass windows in colonial homes, on which direct sunlight could not reach,
permitted the glass from creating a green house effect. Verandahs also served a similar purpose. Traditional
bungalows had high roofs and ventilators that permitted hot air to rise and leave the room. Cross ventilation
where wind can drive the air in and out of a room keeps it cool. Large overhangs over windows prevent the glass
from heating the room inside. Double walls are used to prevent heating. Shady trees around the house help reduce
temperature.

Solar water heating: Most solar water-heating systems have two main parts: the solar collector and the storage
tank. The solar energy collector heats the water, which then flows to a well insulated storage tank. A common type
of collector is the flat-plate collector, a rectangular box with a transparent cover that faces the sun, usually
mounted on the roof. Small tubes run through the box, carrying the water or other fluid, such as antifreeze, to be
heated. The tubes are mounted on a metal absorber plate, which is painted black to absorb the sun’s heat. The
back and sides of the box are insulated to hold in the heat. Heat builds up in the collector, and as the fluid passes
through the tubes, it too heats up. Solar water-heating systems cannot heat water when the sun is not shining.
Thus, homes must also have a conventional backup system. About 80% of homes in Israel have solar hot water
heaters.

Solar cookers: The heat produced by the sun can be directly used for cooking using solar cookers. A solar cooker is
a metal box which is black on the inside to absorb and retain heat. The lid has a reflective surface to reflect the
heat from the sun into the box. The box contains black vessels in which the food to be cooked is placed. India has
the world’s largest solar cooker program and an estimated 2 lakh families that use solar cookers. Although solar
cookers reduce the need for fuel wood and pollution from smoky wood fires, they have not caught on well in rural
areas as they are not suitable to traditional cooking practices. However, they have great potential if marketed well.

Other Solar-Powered Devices: Solar desalination systems (for converting saline or brackish water into pure
distilled water) have been developed. In future, they should become important alternatives for man’s future
economic growth in areas where freshwater is not available.

Photovoltaic energy: The solar technology which has the greatest potential for use throughout the world is that of
solar photo voltaic cells which directly produce electricity from sunlight using photovoltaic (PV) (also called solar)
cells. Solar cells use the sun’s light, not its heat, to make electricity. PV cells require little maintenance, have no
moving parts, and essentially no environmental impact. They work cleanly, safely and silently. They can be installed
quickly in small modules, anywhere there is sunlight. Solar cells are made of two separate layers of silicon, each of
which contains an electric charge. When light hits the cells, the charges begin to move between the two layers and
electricity is produced. PV cells are wired together to form a module. A module of about 40 cells is enough to
power a light bulb. For more power, PV modules are wired together into an array. PV arrays can produce enough
power to meet the electrical needs of a home. Over the past few years, extensive work has been done in
decreasing PV technology costs, increasing efficiency, and extending cell lifetimes. Many new materials, such as
amorphous silicon, are being tested to reduce costs and automate manufacturing. PV cells are commonly used
today in calculators and watches. They also provide power to satellites, electric lights, and small electrical
appliances such as radios and for water pumping, highway lighting, weather stations, and other electrical systems
located away from power lines. Some electric utility companies are building PV systems into their power supply
networks. PV cells are environmentally benign, i.e. they do not release pollutants or toxic material to the air or
water, there is no radioactive substance, and no catastrophic accidents. Some PV cells, however, do contain small
quantities of toxic substances such as cadmium and these can be released to the environment in the event of a
fire. Solar cells are made of silicon which, although the second most abundant element in the earth’s crust, has to
be mined. Mining creates environmental problems. PV systems also of course only work when the sun is shining,
and thus need batteries to store the electricity.

Solar thermal electric power: Solar radiation can produce high temperatures, which can generate electricity. Areas
with low cloud levels of cover with little scattered radiation as in the desert are considered most suitable sites.
According to a UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) assessment, STE (Solar Thermal Energy) is about
20 years behind the wind energy market exploitation, but is expected to grow rapidly in the near future.

Mirror energy: During the 1980s, a major solar thermal electrical generation unit was built in California, containing
700 parabolic mirrors, each with 24 reflectors, 1.5 meters in diameter, which focused the sun’s energy to produce
steam to generate electricity. Solar thermal systems change sunlight into electricity, by focusing sunlight to boil
water to make steam.

Biomass energy: When a log is burned we are using biomass energy. Because plants and trees depend on sunlight
to grow, biomass energy is a form of stored solar energy. Although wood is the largest source of biomass energy,
we also use agricultural waste, sugarcane wastes, and other farm byproducts to make energy. There are three
ways to use biomass. It can be burned to produce heat and electricity, changed to a gas-like fuel such as methane,
or changed to a liquid fuel. Liquid fuels, also called bio-fuels, include two forms of alcohol: ethanol and methanol.
Because biomass can be changed directly into liquid fuel, it could someday supply much of our transportation fuel
needs for cars, trucks, buses, airplanes and trains with diesel fuel replaced by ‘biodiesel’ made from vegetable oils.
In the United States, this fuel is now being produced from soybean oil. Researchers are also developing algae that
produce oils, which can be converted to biodiesel and new ways have been found to produce ethanol from
grasses, trees, bark, sawdust, paper, and farming wastes.
Organic municipal solid waste includes paper, food wastes, and other organic non-fossil-fuel derived
materials such as textiles, natural rubber, and leather that are found in the waste of urban areas. Currently, in the
US, approximately 31% of organic waste is recovered from municipal solid waste via recycling and composting
programs, 62% is deposited in landfills, and 7% is incinerated. Waste material can be converted into electricity by
combustion boilers or steam turbines. Note that like any fuel, biomass creates some pollutants, including carbon
dioxide, when burned or converted into energy. In terms of air pollutants, biomass generates less relative to fossil
fuels. Biomass is naturally low in sulphur and therefore, when burned, generates low sulphur dioxide emissions.
However, if burned in the open air, some biomass feed-stocks would emit relatively high levels of nitrous oxides
(given the high nitrogen content of plan material), carbonmonoxide, and particulates.
CASE STUDIES
• In 1981, a plane called ‘The Solar Challenger’ flew from Paris to England in 5 hours, 20 minutes. It had
16,000 solar cells glued to the wings and tail of the plane and they produced enough power to drive a small
electric motor and propeller. Since 1987, every three years there is a World Solar challenge for solar operated
vehicles in Australia where the vehicles cover 3000 km.
• The world’s first solar-powered hospital is in Mali in Africa. Being situated at the edge of the Sahara desert,
Mali receives a large amount of sunlight. Panels of solar cells supply the power needed to run vital equipment
and keep medical supplies cool in refrigerators.
• Space technology required solar energy and the space race spurred the development of solar cells. Only
sunlight can provide power for long periods of time for a space station or long distance spaceship.
• Japanese farmers are substituting PV operated insect killers for toxic pesticides.
• In recent years, the popularity of building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV’s) has grown considerably. In this
application, PV devices are designed as part of building materials (i.e. roofs and siding) both to produce
electricity and reduce costs by replacing the costs of normal construction materials. There are more than
3,000 BIPV systems in Germany and Japan has a program that will build 70,000 BIPV buildings.

Biogas: Biogas is produced from plant material and animal waste, garbage, waste from households and some types
of industrial wastes, such as fish processing, dairies, and sewage treatment plants. It is a mixture of gases which
includes methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and water vapour. In this mixture, methane burns easily.
With a ton of food waste, one can produce 85 Cu. M of biogas. Once used, the residue is used as an agricultural
fertilizer. Denmark produces a large quantity of biogas from waste and produces 15,000 megawatts of electricity
from 15 farmers’ cooperatives. London has a plant which makes 30 megawatts of electricity a year from 420,000
tons of municipal waste which gives power to 50,000 families. In Germany, 25% of landfills for garbage produce
power from biogas. Japan uses 85%
of its waste and France about 50%.
Biogas plants have become increasingly popular in India in the rural sector. The biogas plants use cow
dung, which is converted into a gas which is used as a fuel. It is also used for running dual fuel engines. The
reduction in kitchen smoke by using biogas has reduced lung conditions in thousands of homes.
The fibrous waste of the sugar industry is the world’s largest potential source of biomass energy. Ethanol
produced from sugarcane molasses is a good automobile fuel and is now used in a third of the vehicles in Brazil.
The National Project on Biogas Development (NPBD), and Community/ Institutional Biogas Plant Program promote
various biogas projects. By 1996 there were already 2.18 million families in India that used biogas. However, China
has 20 million households using biogas!
Activity 5: What you may throw out in your garbage today could be used as fuel for someone else.
Municipal solid waste has the potential to be a large energy source. Garbage is an inexpensive energy
resource. Unlike most other energy resources, someone will collect garbage, deliver it to the power plant,
and even pay to get rid of it. This helps cover the cost of turning garbage into energy. Garbage is also a
unique resource because we all contribute to it. Keep a record of all the garbage that you and our family
produce in a day. What proportion of it is in the form of biomass? Weigh this. How long would it take you
to gather enough waste biomass to make a tank full (0.85 cu.m.) of biogas? (Remember one ton of biomass
produces 85 cu.m. of biogas).

Wind Power: Wind was the earliest energy source used for transportation by sailing ships. Some 2000 years ago,
windmills were developed in China, Afghanistan and Persia (now Iran) to draw water for irrigation and grinding
grain. Most of the early work on generating electricity from wind was carried out in Denmark, at the end of the last
century. Today, Denmark and California have large wind turbine cooperatives which sell electricity to the
government grid. In Tamil Nadu, there are large wind farms producing 850 megawatts of electricity. At present,
India is the third largest wind energy producer in the world. The power in wind is a function of the wind speed and
therefore the average wind speed of an area is an important determinant of economically feasible power. Wind
speed increases with height. At a given turbine site, the power available 30 meters above ground is typically 60
percent greater than at 10 meters. Over the past two decades, a great deal of technical progress has been made in
the design, siting, installation, operation, and maintenance of power-producing wind mills (turbines). These
improvements have led to higher wind conversion efficiencies and lower electricity production costs.

Environmental Impacts: Wind power has few environmental impacts, as there are virtually no air or water
emissions, or radiation, or solid waste production. The principal problems are bird kills, noise, effect on TV
reception, and aesthetic objections to the sheer number of wind turbines that are required to meet electricity
needs. Although large areas of land are required for setting up wind farms, the amount used by the turbine bases,
the foundations and the access roads is less than 1% of the total area covered by the wind farm. The rest of the
area can also be used for agricultural purposes or for grazing. Siting windmills offshore reduces their demand for
land and visual impact. Wind is an intermittent source and the intermittency of wind depends on the geographic
distribution of wind. Wind therefore cannot be used as the sole resource for electricity, and requires some other
backup or stand-by electricity source.

Tidal and Wave Power: The earth’s surface is 70% water. By warming the water, the sun, creates ocean currents
and wind that produces waves. It is estimated that the solar energy absorbed by the tropical oceans in a week
could equal the entire oil reserves of the world - 1 trillion barrels of oil. The energy of waves in the sea that crash
on the land of all the continents is estimated at 2 to 3 million megawatts of energy.
From the 1970s several countries have been experimenting with technology to harness the kinetic energy
of the ocean to generate electricity. Tidal power is tapped by placing a barrage across an estuary and forcing the
tidal flow to pass through turbines. In a one-way system the incoming tide is allowed to fill the basin through a
sluice, and the water so collected is used to produce electricity during the low tide. In a two-way system power is
generated from both the incoming as well as the outgoing tide. Tidal power stations bring about major ecological
changes in the sensitive ecosystem of coastal regions and can destroy the habitats and nesting places of water
birds and interfere with fisheries. A tidal power station at the mouth of a river blocks the flow of polluted water
into the sea, thereby creating health and pollution hazards in the estuary. Other drawbacks include offshore
energy devices posing navigational hazards. Residual drift current could affect spawning of some fish, whose larvae
would be carried away from spawning grounds. They may also affect the migration patterns of surface swimming
fish.
Wave power converts the motion of waves into electrical or mechanical energy. For this, an energy
extraction device is used to drive turbo-generators. Electricity can be generated at sea and transmitted by cable to
land. This energy source has yet to be fully explored. The largest concentration of potential wave energy on earth
is located between latitudes 40 to 60 degrees in both the northern and southern hemispheres, where the winds
blow most strongly. Another developing concept harnesses energy due to the differences in temperature between
the warm upper layers of the ocean and the cold deep sea water. These plants are known as Ocean Thermal
Energy Conversion (OTEC). This is a high tech installation which may prove to be highly valuable in the future.

Geothermal energy: is the energy stored within the earth (“geo” for earth and “thermal” for heat). Geothermal
energy starts with hot, molten rock (called magma) deep inside the earth which surfaces at some parts of the
earth’s crust. The heat rising from the magma warms underground pools of water known as geothermal reservoirs.
If there is an opening, hot underground water comes to the surface and
forms hot springs, or it may boil to form geysers. With modern technology, wells are drilled deep below the
surface of the earth to tap into geothermal reservoirs. This is called direct use of geothermal energy, and it
provides a steady stream of hot water that is pumped to the earth’s surface.
In the 20th century geothermal energy has been harnessed on a large scale for space heating, industrial
use and electricity production, especially in Iceland, Japan and New Zealand. Geothermal energy is nearly as cheap
as hydropower and will thus be increasingly utilised in future. However, water from geothermal reservoirs often
contains minerals that are corrosive and polluting. Geothermal fluids are a problem which must be treated before
disposal.

Nuclear Power
In 1938 two German scientists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman demonstrated nuclear fission. They found they could
split the nucleus of a uranium atom by bombarding it with neutrons. As the nucleus split, some mass was
converted to energy. The nuclear power industry however, was born in the late 1950s. The first large-scale nuclear
power plant in the world became operational in 1957 in Pennsylvania, US. Dr. Homi Bhabha was the father of
Nuclear Power development in India. The Bhabha Atomic Geo-Thermal Energy Research Center in Mumbai studies
and develops modern nuclear technology. India has 10 nuclear reactors at 5 nuclear power stations that produce
2% of India’s electricity. These are located in Maharashtra (Tarapur), Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and
Gujarat. India has uranium from mines in Bihar. There are deposits of thorium in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The nuclear reactors use Uranium 235 to produce electricity. Energy released from 1kg of Uranium 235 is
equivalent to that produced by burning 3,000 tons of coal. U235 is made into rods which are fitted into a nuclear
reactor. The control rods absorb neutrons and thus adjust the fission which releases energy due to the chain
reaction in a reactor unit. The heat energy produced in the reaction is used to heat water and produce steam,
which drives turbines that produce electricity. The drawback is that the rods need to be changed periodically. This
has impacts on the environment due to disposal of nuclear waste. The reaction releases very hot waste water that
damages aquatic ecosystems, even though it is cooled by a water system before it is released.
The disposal of nuclear waste is becoming an increasingly serious issue. The cost of Nuclear Power
generation must include the high cost of disposal of its waste and the decommissioning of old plants. These have
high economic as well as ecological costs that are not taken into account when developing new nuclear
installations. For environmental reasons, Sweden has decided to become a Nuclear Free Country.
Although the conventional environmental impacts from nuclear power are negligible, what overshadows
all the other types of energy sources is that an accident can be devastating and the effects last for long periods of
time. While it does not pollute air or water routinely like oil or biomass, a single accident can kill thousands of
people, make many others seriously ill, and destroy an area for decades by its radioactivity which leads to death,
cancer and genetic deformities. Land, water, vegetation are destroyed for long periods of time. Management,
storage and disposal of radioactive wastes resulting from nuclear power generation are the biggest expenses of
the nuclear power industry. There have been nuclear accidents at Chernobyl in USSR and at the Three Mile Island
in USA. The radioactivity unleashed by such an accident can affect mankind for generations.

Energy Conservation: Conventional energy sources have a variety of impacts on nature and human society. India
needs to rapidly move into a policy to reduce energy needs and use cleaner energy production technologies. A
shift to alternate energy use and renewable energy sources that are used judiciously and equitably would bring
about environmentally friendly and sustainable lifestyles. India must reduce its dependency on imported oil. At
present we are under-utilizing our natural gas resources. We could develop thousands of mini dams to generate
electricity. India wastes great amounts of electricity during transmission. Fuel-wood plantations need to be
enhanced and management through Joint Forestry Management (JFM) has a great promise for the future.
Energy efficient cooking stoves or ‘chulas’ help the movement of air through it so that the wood is burnt
more efficiently. They also have a chimney to prevent air pollution and thus reduce respiratory problems. While
over 2 lakh improved chulas have been introduced throughout the country, the number in active use is unknown
as most rural people find it to be unusable for several reasons. TERI in 1995 estimated that in India 95% of rural
people and 60% of urban poor still depend on firewood, cattle dung and crop residue for cooking and other
domestic purposes. Biomass can be converted into biogas or liquid fuels ie. ethanol and methanol. Biogas digesters
convert animal waste or agricultural residues into gas. This is 60% methane and 40% CO2 generated by
fermentation. The commonly used agro-waste is dung of domestic animals and rice husk, coconut shells, straw or
weeds. The material left after the gas is used acts as a fertilizer.
Small hydrogeneration units are environment-friendly. They do not displace people, destroy forests or
wildlife habitats or kill aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity. They can be placed in several hill streams, on canals or
rivers. The generation depends on flowing water due to gravity. However, this fails if the flow is seasonal. It is easy
to waste energy but cheaper to save it than generate it. We can conserve energy by preventing or reducing waste
of energy and by using resources more efficiently. People waste energy because government subsidises it. If the
real cost was levied, people would not be able to afford to waste it carelessly.
Industry and transport are the main growing users of energy in India. Industries that are known for
generating pollution also waste the most energy. These include chemical industries, especially petrochemical units,
iron and steel, textiles, paper, etc. Unplanned and inefficient public transport systems, especially in cities, waste
large amount of energy. Using bicycles is an excellent method to reduce the use of energy. In agriculture, irrigation
pumps to lift water are the most energy intensive agricultural use. These are either electrical or run on fossil fuels.

f. Land as a resource: Landforms such as hills, valleys, plains, river basins and wetlands include different resource
generating areas that the people living in them depend on. Many traditional farming societies had ways of
preserving areas from which they used resources. For example, in the ‘sacred groves’ of the Western Ghats,
requests to the spirit of the Grove for permission to cut a tree, or extract a resource, were accompanied by simple
rituals. The outcome of a chance fall on one side or the other of a stone balanced on a rock gave or withheld
permission. The request could not be repeated for a specified period. If land is utilized carefully it can be
considered a renewable resource. The roots of trees and grasses bind the soil. If forests are depleted, or grasslands
overgrazed, the land becomes unproductive and wasteland is formed. Intensive irrigation leads to water logging
and salination, on which crops cannot grow. Land is also converted into a non-renewable resource when highly
toxic industrial and nuclear wastes are dumped on it. Land on earth is as finite as any of our other natural
resources. While mankind has learnt to adapt his lifestyle to various ecosystems world over, he cannot live
comfortably for instance on polar ice caps, on under the sea, or in space in the foreseeable future.
Man needs land for building homes, cultivating food, maintaining pastures for domestic animals,
developing industries to provide goods, and supporting the industry by creating towns and cities. Equally
importantly, man needs to protect wilderness area in forests, grasslands, wetlands, mountains, coasts, etc. to
protect our vitally valuable biodiversity. Thus, a rational use of land needs careful planning. One can develop most
of these different types of land uses almost anywhere, but Protected Areas (National Park’s and Wildlife
Sanctuaries) can only be situated where some of the natural ecosystems are still undisturbed. These Protected
Areas are important aspects of good land-use planning.
Land Degradation: Farmland is under threat due to more and more intense utilisation. Every year, between 5 to 7
million hectares of land worldwide is added to the existing degraded farmland. When soil is used more intensively
by farming, it is eroded more rapidly by wind and rain. Over irrigating farmland leads to salinisation, as evaporation
of water brings the salts to the surface of the soil on which crops cannot grow. Over irrigation also creates water
logging of the topsoil so that crop roots are affected and the crop deteriorates. The use of more and more
chemical fertilizers poisons the soil so that eventually the land becomes unproductive. As urban centers grow and
industrial expansion occurs, the agricultural land and forests shrink. This is a serious loss and has long term ill
effects on human civilisation.

Soil erosion: The characteristics of natural ecosystems such as forests and grasslands depend on the type of soil.
Soils of various types support a wide variety of crops. The misuse of an ecosystem leads to loss of valuable soil
through erosion by the monsoon rains and, to a smaller extent, by wind. The roots of the trees in the forest hold
the soil. Deforestation thus leads to Changes in land use rapid soil erosion. Soil is washed into streams and is
transported into rivers and finally lost to the sea. The process is more evident in areas where deforestation has led
to erosion on steep hill slopes as in the Himalayas and in the Western Ghats. These areas are called ‘ecologically
sensitive areas’ or ESAs. To prevent the loss of millions of tons of valuable soil every year, it is essential to preserve
what remains of our natural forest cover. It is equally important to reforest denuded areas. The linkage between
the existence of forests and the presence of soil is greater than the forest’s physical soil binding function alone.
The soil is enriched by the leaf-litter of the forest. This detritus is broken down by soil micro-organisms, fungi,
worms and insects,
which help to recycle nutrients in the system. Further losses of our soil wealth will impoverish our country and
reduce its capacity to grow enough food in future.

2.3 ROLE OF AN INDIVIDUAL IN THE CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Until fairly recently mankind acted as if he could go on for ever exploiting the ecosystems and natural resources
such as soil, water, forests and grasslands on the Earth’s surface and extracting minerals and fossil fuels from
underground. But, in the last few decades, it has become increasingly evident that the global ecosystem has the
capacity to sustain only a limited level of utilization. Biological systems cannot go on replenishing resources if they
are overused or misused. At a critical point, increasing pressure destabilizes their natural balance. Even biological
resources traditionally classified as ‘renewable’ - such as those from our oceans, forests, grasslands and wetlands,
are being degraded by overuse and may be permanently destroyed. And no natural resource is limitless. ‘Non-
renewable’ resources will be rapidly exhausted if we continue to use them as intensively as at present. The two
most damaging factors leading to the current rapid depletion of all forms of natural resources are increasing
‘consumerism’ on the part of the affluent sections of society, and rapid population growth. Both factors are the
results of choices we make as individuals. As individuals we need to decide:

• What will we leave to our children? (Are we thinking of short-term or long-term gain?)
• Is my material gain someone else’s loss?

Greed for material goods has become a way of life for a majority of people in the developed world.
Population growth and the resulting shortage of resources most severely affects people in the developing
countries. In nations such as ours, which are both developing rapidly, and suffering from a population explosion,
both factors are responsible for environmental degradation. We must ask ourselves if we have perhaps reached a
critical flash point, at which economic ‘development’ affects the lives of people more adversely than the benefits it
provides.

What can you do to save electricity?

• Turn off lights and fans as soon as you leave the room.
• Use tube lights and energy efficient bulbs that save energy rather than bulbs. A 40-watt tube light gives as much
light as a 100 watt bulb.
• Keep the bulbs and tubes clean. Dust on tubes and bulbs decreases lighting levels by 20 to 30 percent.
• Switch off the television or radio or computer as soon as the program of interest is over.
• A pressure cooker can save up to 75 percent of energy required for cooking. It is also faster.
• Keeping the vessel covered with a lid during cooking, helps to cook faster, thus saving energy.

2.4 EQUITABLE USE OF RESOURCES FOR SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLES

Reduction of the unsustainable and unequal use of resources, and control of our population growth are essential
for the survival of our nation and indeed of human kind everywhere. Our environment provides us with a variety of
goods and services necessary for our day-to-day lives, but the soil, water, climate and solar energy which form the
‘abiotic’ support that we derive from nature, are in themselves not distributed evenly throughout the world or
within countries. A new economic order at the global and at national levels must be based on the ability to
distribute benefits of natural resources by sharing them more equally among the countries as well as among
communities within countries such as our own. It is at the local level where people subsist by the sale of locally
collected resources, that the disparity is greatest. ‘Development’ has not reached them and they are often unjustly
accused of ‘exploiting’ natural resources. They must be adequately compensated for the removal of the sources to
distant regions and thus develop a greater stake in protecting natural resources.
There are several principles that each of us can adopt to bring about sustainable lifestyles. This primarily
comes from caring for our Mother Earth in all respects. A love and respect for Nature is the greatest sentiment
that helps bring about a feeling for looking at how we use natural resources in a new and sensitive way. Think of
the beauty of a wilderness, a natural forest in all its magnificence, the expanse of a green grassland, the clean
water of a lake that supports so much life, the crystal clear water of a hill stream, or the magnificent power of the
oceans, and we cannot help but support the conservation of nature’s wealth. If we respect this we cannot commit
acts that will deplete our life supporting systems.
 UNIT 3: Biodiversity and its conservation
3.1 Introduction
The great variety of life on earth has provided for man’s needs over thousands of years. This diversity of living
creatures forms a support system which has been used by each civilization for its growth and development. Those
that used this “bounty of nature” carefully and sustainably survived. Those that overused or misused it
disintegrated. Science has attempted to classify and categorize the variability in nature for over a century. This has
led to an understanding of its organization into communities of plants and animals. This information has helped in
utilizing the earth’s biological wealth for the benefit of humanity and has been integral to the process of
‘development’. This includes better health care, better crops and the use of these life forms as raw material for
industrial growth which has led to a higher standard of living for the developed world. However, this has also
produced the modern consumerist society, which has had a negative effect on the diversity of biological resources
upon which it is based. The diversity of life on earth is so great that if we use it sustainably we can go on
developing new products from biodiversity for many generations. This can only happen if we manage biodiversity
as a precious resource and prevent the extinction of species.

Definition: ‘Biological diversity’ or biodiversity is that part of nature which includes the differences in genes among
the individuals of a species, the variety and richness of all the plant and animal species at different scales in space,
locally, in a region, in the country and the world, and various types of ecosystems, both terrestrial and aquatic,
within a defined area.

What is biodiversity?
Biological diversity deals with the degree of nature’s variety in the biosphere. This variety can be observed at three
levels; the genetic variability within a species, the variety of species within a community, and the organisation of
species in an area into distinctive plant and animal communities constitutes ecosystem diversity.

3.1.1 Genetic diversity

Each member of any animal or plant species differs widely from other individuals in its genetic makeup because of
the large number of combinations possible in the genes that give every individual specific characteristics. Thus, for
example, each human being is very different from all others. This genetic variability is essential for a healthy
breeding population of a species. If the number of breeding individuals is reduced, the dissimilarity of genetic
makeup is reduced and in-breeding occurs. Eventually this can lead to the extinction of the species. The diversity in
wild species forms the ‘gene pool’ from which our crops and domestic animals have been developed over
thousands of years. Today the variety of nature’s bounty is being further harnessed by using wild relatives of crop
plants to create new varieties of more productive crops and to breed better domestic animals. Modern
biotechnology manipulates genes for developing better types of medicines and a variety of industrial products.

3.1.2 Species diversity

The number of species of plants and animals that are present in a region constitutes its species diversity. This
diversity is seen both in natural ecosystems and in agricultural ecosystems. Some areas are more rich in species
than others. Natural undisturbed tropical forests have a much greater species richness than plantations developed
by the Forest Department for timber production. A natural forest ecosystem provides a large number of non-wood
products that local people depend on such as fruit, fuel wood, fodder, fiber, gum, resin and medicines. Timber
plantations do not provide the large variety of goods that are essential for local consumption. In the long-term the
economic sustainable returns from non-wood forest products is said to be greater than the returns from felling a
forest for its timber. Thus the value of a natural forest, with all its species richness is much greater than a
plantation. Modern intensive agricultural ecosystems have a relatively lower diversity of crops than traditional
agropastoral farming systems where multiple crops were planted. At present conservation scientists have been
able to identify and categorise about 1.8 million species on earth. However, many new species are being identified,
especially in the flowering plants and insects. Areas that are rich in species diversity are called ‘hotspots’ of
diversity. India
is among the world’s 15 nations that are exceptionally rich in species diversity.

3.1.3 Ecosystem diversity

[Link] Concept of an ecosystem: An ‘ecosystem’ is a region with a specific and recognizable landscape form such
as forest, grassland, desert, wetland or coastal area. The nature of the ecosystem is based on its geographical
features such as hills, mountains, plains, rivers, lakes, coastal areas or islands. It is also controlled by climatic
conditions such as the amount of sunlight, the temperature and the rainfall in the region. The geographical,
climatic and soil characteristics form its non-living (abiotic) component. These features create conditions that
support a community of plants and animals that evolution has produced to live in these specific conditions. The
living part of the ecosystem is referred to as its biotic component. Ecosystems are divided into terrestrial or land-
based ecosystems, and aquatic ecosystems in water. These form the two major habitat conditions for the Earth’s
living organisms.
All the living organisms in an area live in communities of plants and animals. They interact with their non-
living environment, and with each other at different points in time for a large number of reasons. Life can exist
only in a small proportion of the earth’s land, water and its atmosphere. At a global level the thin skin of the earth
the land, the sea and the air, forms the biosphere.
At a sub-global level, this is divided into biogeographical realms, for example, Eurasia called thepalaeartic
realm; South and South-East Asia (ofwhich India forms a major part) is the Oriental realm; North America is the
Nearctic realm; South America forms the Neotropical realm; Africa the Ethiopian realm; and Australia the
Australian realm.
At a national or state level, this forms biogeographic regions. There are several distinctive geographical
regions in India namely the Himalayas, the Gangetic Plains, the Highlands of Central India, the Western and Eastern
Ghats, the semi-arid desert in the West, the Deccan Plateau, the Coastal Belts, and the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands. These geographically distinctive areas have plants and animals that have been adapted to live in each of
these regions.
At an even more local level, each area has several structurally and functionally identifiable ecosystems
such as different types of forests, grasslands, river catchments, mangrove swamps in deltas, seashores, islands,
etc. to give only a few examples. Here too each of these forms a habitat for specific plants and animals.
Ecosystems have been formed on land and in the sea by evolution that has created species to live
together in a specific region. Thus, ecosystems have both non-living and living components that are typical to an
area giving it its own special characteristics that are easily observed.
Definition: The living community of plants and animals in any area together with the non-living
components of the environment such as soil, air and water, constitute the ecosystem. Some ecosystems are fairly
robust and are less affected by a certain level of human disturbance. Others are highly fragile and are quickly
destroyed by human activities. Mountain ecosystems are extremely fragile as degradation of forest cover leads to
severe erosion of soil and changes in river courses. Island ecosystems are easily affected by any form of human
activity which can lead to the rapid extinction of several of their unique species of plants and animals. Evergreen
forests and coral reefs are also examples of species-rich fragile ecosystems which must be protected against a
variety of human activities that lead to their degradation. River and wetland ecosystems can be seriously affected
by pollution and changes in surrounding land-use.

[Link] Understanding ecosystems

Natural ecosystems include the forests, grasslands, deserts, and aquatic ecosystems such as ponds, rivers, lakes,
and the sea. Man modified ecosystems include agricultural land and urban or industrial land use patterns.
Each ecosystem has a set of common features that can be observed in the field:
• ‘What does the ecosystem look like?’
One should be able to describe specific features of the different ecosystems in ones own surroundings.
Field observations must be made in both urban and natural surroundings.
• What is its structure?
 Is it a forest, a grassland, a water body, an agricultural area, a grazing area, an urban area, an industrial
area, etc.?
• What you should see are its different characteristics.
A forest has layers from the ground to the canopy. A pond has different types of vegetation from the
periphery to its center. The vegetation on a mountain changes from its base to its summit.
• What is the composition of its plant and animal species?
List the well-known plants and animals you can see. Document their abundance and numbers in nature:
very common, common, uncommon, rare. Wild mammals will not be seen in large numbers, cattle would be
common. Some birds are common - which are the most common species? Insect species that are very common
and most abundant. In fact there are so many that they cannot be easily counted.
• ‘How does an ecosystem work’?
An ecosystem functions through several biogeochemical cycles and energy transfer mechanisms. Observe
and document the components of the ecosystem which are the non-living or abiotic features such as air, water,
climate and soil. Its biotic components, the various plants and animals. Both these aspects of the ecosystem
interact with each other through several functional aspects to form Nature’s ecosystems.
Plants, herbivores and carnivores can be seen to form food chains. All these chains are joined together to
form a ‘web of life’ on which man depends. Each of these uses energy that comes from the sun and powers the
ecosystem through green plants.

[Link] Ecosystem degradation: Ecosystems are the basis of life itself! The natural ecosystems in the wilderness
provide a variety of products and are regions in which a number of vital ecological processes are present, without
which human civilization would not be able to exist. Ecosystems are however frequently disrupted by human
actions which lead to the extinction of species of plants and animals that can live only in the different natural
ecosystems. Some species if eliminated seriously affect the ecosystem. These are called ‘keystone’ species.
Extinction occurs due to changes in land use. Forests are deforested for timber, wetlands are drained to create
more agricultural land and semi arid grasslands that are used as pastures are changed into irrigated fields.
Pollution from industry and waste from urban settings can also lead to extinction of several species. The reason for
the depletion of natural resources is twofold - our rapidly exploding population that needs to sustain itself on
resources, and the growth of affluent societies, which consume and waste a very large proportion of resources and
energy. Increasing extraction of resources at the cost of natural ecosystems, lead to a derangement of their
important functions. Each of us in our daily lives use a variety of resources. If tracked back to their source, one
finds that the resources were originally obtained from nature and natural ecosystems. Our insensitivity to using
resources carefully has produced societies that nature can no longer sustain. If one thinks before wasting
resources such as water, reusing and recycling paper, using less plastics that are non-degradable, culminatively this
can have positive implications on the integrity of our natural resource base and conserve the resources that nature
provides.

[Link] Resource utilization: Most traditional societies used their environment sustainably. Though inequality in
resource utilization has existed in every society, the number of individuals that used a large proportion of
resources was extremely limited. In recent times the proportion of ‘rich’ people in affluent societies, grew rapidly.
Inequality thus became a serious problem. Whereas in the past many resources such as timber and fuel wood from
the forest were extracted sustainably, this pattern has drastically changed during the last century. The
economically better off sections began to use greater amounts of forest products, while those people who lived in
the forest became increasingly poor. Similarly the building of large irrigation projects led to wealth in those areas
that had canals, while those who hand to remain dependent on a constant supply of water from the river itself,
found it difficult to survive. The key to this issue is the need for an ‘equitable’ distribution of all types of natural
resources. A more even sharing of resources within the community can reduce these pressures on the natural
ecosystems.

3.2 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF AN ECOSYSTEM

3.2.1 Structural aspects
Components that make up the structural aspects of an ecosystem include:
1) Inorganic aspects - C, N, CO2, H2O.
2) Organic compounds - Protein, Carbohydrates, Lipids - link abiotic to biotic aspects.
3) Climatic regimes - Temperature, Moisture, Light & Topography.
4) Producers - Plants.
5) Macro consumers - Phagotrophs - Large animals.
6) Micro consumers - Saprotrophs, absorbers - fungi.

3.2.2 Functional aspects

Since each ecosystem has a non-living and a living part that are linked to each other, one needs to look
around us and observe this closely. This is an important aspect which is a vital part of our lives. The non-living
components of an ecosystem are the amount of water, the various inorganic substances and organic compounds,
and climatic conditions such as rainfall and temperature, which depend on geographical conditions and location
which is also related to the amount of sunlight. The living organisms in an ecosystem are inseparable from their
habitat. The living component of plant life ranges from extremely small bacteria, which live in air, water and soil,
algae which live in fresh and salt water, to the terrestrial plants which range from grasses and herbs that grow
after the monsoon every year, to the giant long-lived trees of the forest. The plants convert energy from sunlight
into organic matter for their growth. They thus function as producers of the ecosystem. The living component of
the animal world ranges from
microscopic animals, to small insects and the larger animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
Man is just one of the 1.8 million species of plants and animals that inhabit the earth.

The Water Cycle: When it rains, the water runs along the ground and flows into rivers or falls directly into the sea.
A part of the rainwater that falls on land percolates into the ground. This is stored underground throughout the
rest of the year. Water is drawn up from the ground by plants along with the nutrients from the soil. The water is
transpired through the leaves as water vapour and returned to the atmosphere. As it is lighter than air, water
vapour rises and forms clouds. Winds blow the clouds for long distances and when the clouds rise higher, the
vapour condenses and changes into droplets, which fall on the land as rain. Though this is an endless cycle on
which life depends, man’s activities are making drastic changes in the atmosphere through pollution which is
altering rainfall patterns. This leads to prolonged drought periods extending over years in countries such as Africa,
while causing floods in countries such as the US. El Nino storms due to these effects have devastated many places
in the last few years.

3.3 PRODUCERS, CONSUMERS AND DECOMPOSERS

Every living organism is in some way dependent on other organisms. Plants are food for herbivorous animals which
are in turn food for carnivorous animals. Thus, there are different tropic levels in the ecosystem. Some organisms
such as fungi live only on dead material and inorganic matter. Plants are the ‘producers’ in the ecosystem as they
manufacture their food by using energy from the sun. In the forest these form communities of plant life. In the sea
these include tiny algal forms to large seaweed. The herbivorous animals are primary consumers as they live on the
producers. In a forest, these are the insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. The herbivorous animals
include for example hare, deer and elephants that live on plant life. They graze on grass or feed on the foliage from
trees. In grasslands, there are herbivores such as the blackbuck that feed on grass. In the semiarid areas, there are
species such as the Indian gazelle. At a higher tropic level, there are carnivorous animals, or secondary consumers,
which live on herbivorous animals. In our forests, the carnivorous animals are tigers, leopards, jackals, foxes and
small wild cats. In the sea, there are small fish that live on algae and other plants, carnivorous fish live on these fish
and marine animals. Animals that live in the sea range in size from microscopic forms to giant mammals such as
the whale.
Decomposers or detrivores are a group of organisms consisting of small animals like worms, insects,
bacteria and fungi, which break down dead organic material into smaller particles and finally into simpler
substances that are used by plants as nutrition. Decomposition thus is a vital function in nature, as without this, all
the nutrients would be tied up in dead matter and no new life could be produced.
Most ecosystems are highly complex and consist of an extremely large number of individuals of a wide
variety of species. In the species-rich tropical ecosystems (such as in our country), only a few species are very
common, while most species have relatively few individuals. Some species of plants and animals are extremely rare
and may occur only at a few locations. These are said to be ‘endemic’ to these areas. When human activities alter
the balance in these ecosystems, the “perturbation” leads to the
disappearance of these uncommon species. When this happens to an endemic species that is not widely
distributed, it becomes extinct for all time.

3.4 ENERGY FLOW IN THE ECOSYSTEM

Every ecosystem has several interrelated mechanisms that affect human life. These are the water cycle,
the carbon cycle, the oxygen cycle, the nitrogen cycle and the energy cycle. While every ecosystem is
controlled by these cycles, in each ecosystem its abiotic and biotic features are distinct from each other. All the
functions of the ecosystem are in some way related to the growth and regeneration of its plant and animal species.
These linked processes can be depicted as the various cycles. These processes depend on energy from sunlight.
During photosynthesis carbon dioxide is taken up by plants and oxygen is released. Animals depend on this oxygen
for their respiration. The water cycle depends on the rainfall, which is necessary for plants and animals to live. The
energy cycle recycles nutrients into the soil on which plant life grows. Our own lives are closely linked to the
proper functioning of these cycles of life. If human activities go on altering them, humanity cannot survive on our
earth.

3.5 FOOD CHAINS, FOOD WEBS AND ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS

The transfer of energy from the source in plants through a series of organisms by eating and being eaten
constitutes food chains. At each transfer, a large proportion of energy is lost in the form of heat. These food chains
are not isolated sequences, but are interconnected with each other. This interlocking pattern is known as the food
web. Each step of the food web is called a trophic level. Hence, green plants occupy the first level, herbivores the
second level, carnivores the third level and secondary carnivores the fourth level. These trophic levels together
form the ecological pyramid.

3.5.1 The food chains

The most obvious aspect of nature is that energy must pass from one living organism to another. When
herbivorous animals feed on plants, energy is transferred from plants to animals. In an ecosystem, some of the
animals feed on other living organisms, while some feed on dead organic matter. The latter form the ‘detritus’
food chain. At each linkage in the chain, a major part of the energy from the food is lost for daily activities. Each
chain usually has only four to five such links. However, a single species may be linked to a large number of species.

3.5.2 The food webs

In an ecosystem there are a very large number of interlinked chains. This forms a food web. If the linkages in the
chains that make up the web of life are disrupted due to human activities that lead to the loss or extinction of
species, the web breaks down.

3.5.3 The ecological pyramids

In an ecosystem, green plants - the producers, utilize energy directly from sunlight and convert it into matter. A
large number of these organisms form the most basic, or first ‘trophic level’ of the food pyramid. The herbivorous
animals that eat plants are at the second trophic level and are called primary consumers. The predators that feed
on them form the third trophic level and are known as secondary consumers. Only a few animals form the third
trophic level consisting of carnivores at the apex of the food pyramid. This is how energy is used by living creatures
and flows through the ecosystem from its base to the apex. Much of the energy is used up in activities of each
living organism.

3.6 TYPES OF ECOSYSTEMS

Terrestrial Ecosystems Aquatic Ecosystems

Forest Pond
Grassland Lake
Semi arid areas Wetland
Deserts River
 Mountains Delta
Islands Marine

For each of these ecosystems we need to understand 4 basic issues:

1. What is the nature of the ecosystem? What is its structure and its functions?
2. Who uses the ecosystem and for what purpose?
3. How are these ecosystems degraded?
4. What can be done to protect it from deteriorating in the long-term? How can the ecosystem be conserved?

3.7 ECOSYSTEM GOODS AND SERVICES

Direct Values: These are resources that people depend upon directly and are easy to quantify in economic terms.
• Consumptive Use Value - Non-market value of fruit, fodder, firewood, etc. that are used by people who collect
them from their surrounds.]
• Productive Use Value - Commercial value of timber, fish, medicinal plants, etc. that people collect for sale.

Indirect Values: These are uses that do not have easy ways to quantify them in terms of a clearly definable price.
• Non-consumptive use value – scientific research, bird-watching, ecotourism, etc.
• Option value - maintaining options for the future, so that by preserving them one could reap economic benefits
in the future.
• Existence value - ethical and emotional aspects of the existence of wildlife and nature.

Terrestrial ecosystems in their natural state are found in different types of forests, grasslands, semiarid
areas, deserts and sea coasts. Where the land is intensively used, these have been gradually modified over several
thousand years into agricultural and pastoral regions. In the recent past they have been rapidly converted into
intensively irrigated agricultural ecosystems or into urban and industrial centers. Though this has increased
production of food and provides the raw material for ‘consumer’ goods that we use, the overuse and misuse of
land and natural ecosystems has led to a serious degradation of our environment. The unsustainable use of
environmental goods such as soil, water, fuel- wood, timber from forest, grasses and herbs from grasslands for
grazing and repeatedly burning the grass, degrades these natural ecosystems. Similarly, improper use of resources
can destroy the services that the natural ecosystems provide. These processes of nature such as photosynthesis,
climate control, prevention of soil erosion are disturbed by many human activities. When our human population
was small, most ecosystems could supply all our needs. Resources were thus used ‘sustainably’. As industrial
‘development’ led to a very great increase in consumption of resources, the short term economic gains for people
became an indicator of progress, rather than long term ecological benefits. This has resulted in an ‘unsustainable
use’ of natural resources. Forests thus disappear, rivers run dry, deserts begin to spread, and air, water and soil
become increasingly polluted as by-products of development. Human well being itself is then seriously affected

3.8 EVOLUTION AND THE GENESIS OF BIODIVERSITY: The origins of life on earth some three and a half billion
years ago are obscure. Life was probably initiated as a product of organic reactions in the Earth’s primordial seas.
Alternative possibilities such as life beginning in a muddy ooze, or of life having been seeded from outer space
have also been suggested. Once life took hold on the planet, it began gradually to diversify. Unicellular
unspecialized forms gradually evolved into complex multi-cellular plants and animals. Evolution is related to the
ability of living organisms to adapt to changes in their environment. Thus, the abiotic changes in nature such as
climatic and atmospheric upheavals, repeated glaciations, continental drift and the formation of geographical
barriers, segregated different communities of plants and animals and gradually lead to the formation of new
species over millions of years. Most species appear to have a life span extending over several million years. Their
adaptability to gradual changes in their habitat, and interactions with newly formed species produce groups of
inter linked organisms that continue to evolve together. Food chains, prey-predator relationships, parasitism
(complete dependence on another species), commensalism (a partnership beneficial to both species), etc. are
important examples. Behavioural patterns of the different species comprising a community of species links them to
each other through their breeding biology, feeding patterns, migrations, etc. As ancient species became extinct
due to geological upheavals, they left behind empty ‘niches’ in the habitat that stimulated existing species to fill
them through the formation of new species. The Earth’s ancient history has seen periods of mega extinctions,
which have been followed by periods of formation of new species. Though these repeatedly led to a drastic
reduction in the number of species, the diversity of life recuperated each time by gradually increasing the number
of species existing on earth. This however took millions of years, as evolution is a very slow process. Thus, when
man came on the scene some 2 million years ago, the earth was more rich in species than ever before. During the
recent past however, extinctions due to the activities of modern man have begun to take place so rapidly that
nature has had no time to evolve new species. The earth is loosing species more rapidly than ever before. The
diversity of life at all three organizational levels, genetic, species and ecosystem, is thus being rapidly modified by
modern man. This is a great loss to future generations who will follow us.

3.9 VALUE OF BIODIVERSITY

Environmental services from species and ecosystems are essential at global, regional and local levels. Production of
oxygen, reducing carbon dioxide, maintaining the water cycle, protecting soil are important services. The world
now acknowledges that the loss of biodiversity contributes to global climatic changes. Forests are the main
mechanism for the conversion of carbon dioxide into carbon and oxygen. The loss of forest cover, coupled with the
increasing release of carbon dioxide and other gases through industrialization contributes to the ‘greenhouse
effect’. Global warming is melting ice caps, resulting in a rise in the sea level which will submerge the low lying
areas in the world. It is causing major atmospheric changes, leading to increased temperatures, serious droughts in
some areas and unexpected floods in other areas. Biological diversity is also essential for preserving ecological
processes, such as fixing and recycling of nutrients, soil formation, circulation and cleansing of air and water, global
life support (plants absorb CO2, release O2), maintaining the water balance within ecosystems, watershed
protection, maintaining stream and river flows throughout the year, erosion control and local flood reduction.
Food, clothing, housing, energy, medicines, are all resources that are directly or indirectly linked to the
biological variety present in the biosphere. This is most obvious in the tribal communities who gather resources
from the forest, or fisherfolk who catch fish in marine or freshwater ecosystems. For others, such as agricultural
communities, biodiversity is used to grow their crops to suit the environment. Urban communities generally use
the greatest amount of goods and services, which are all indirectly drawn from natural ecosystems. It has become
obvious that the preservation of biological resources is essential for the well-being and the long-term survival of
mankind. This diversity of living organisms which is present in the wilderness, as well as in our crops and livestock,
plays a major role in human ‘development’. The preservation of ‘biodiversity’ is therefore integral to any strategy
that aims at improving the quality of human life.

3.9.1 Consumptive use value

The direct utilisation of timber, food, fuel-wood, fodder by local communities. The biodiversity held in the
ecosystem provides forest dwellers with all their daily needs, food, building material, fodder, medicines and a
variety of other products. They know the qualities and different uses of wood from different species of trees, and
collect a large number of local fruits, roots and plant material that they use as food, construction material or
medicines. Fisherfolk are highly dependent on fish and know where and how to catch fish and other edible aquatic
animals and plants.

3.9.2 Productive use value

Marketable goods. Value of MFP (Minor Forest Products)>Timber (which is part of sustainable use).
The biotechnologist uses biorich areas to ‘prospect’ and search for potential genetic properties in plants or animals
that can be used to develop better varieties of crops that are used in farming and plantation programs or to
develop better livestock. To the pharmacist, biological diversity is the raw material from which new drugs can be
identified from plant or animal products. To industrialists, biodiversity is a rich store-house from which to develop
new products. For agricultural scientists the biodiversity in the wild relatives of crop plants is the basis for
developing better crops. Genetic diversity enables scientists and farmers to develop better crops and domestic
animals through careful breeding. Originally this was done by selecting or pollinating crops artificially to get a more
productive or disease resistant strain. Today this is increasingly being done by genetic engineering, selecting genes
from one plant and introducing them into another. New crop varieties (cultivars) are being developed using the
genetic material found in wild relatives of crop plants through biotechnology. Even today, species of plants and
animals are being constantly discovered in the wild. Thus, these wild species are the building blocks for the
betterment of human life and their loss is a great economic loss to mankind. Among the known species, only a tiny
fraction have been investigated for their value in terms of food, or their medicinal or industrial potential.
Preservation of biodiversity has now become essential for industrial growth and economic development.
A variety of industries such as pharmaceuticals are highly dependent on identifying compounds of great economic
value from the wide variety of wild species of plants located in undisturbed natural forests. This is called biological
prospecting.

3.9.3 Social values

While traditional societies which had a small population and required less resources had preserved their
biodiversity as a life supporting resource, modern man has rapidly depleted it even to the extent of leading to the
irrecoverable loss due to extinction of several species. Thus, apart from the local use or sale of products of
biodiversity there is the social aspect in which more and more resources are used by affluent societies. The
biodiversity has to a great extent been preserved by traditional societies that valued it as a resource and
appreciated that its depletion would be a great loss to their society.
The consumptive and productive value of biodiversity is closely linked to social concerns in traditional
communities. ‘Ecosystem people’ value biodiversity as a part of their livelihood as well as through cultural and
religious sentiments. A great variety of crops have been cultivated in traditional agricultural systems and this
permitted a wide range of produce to be grown and marketed throughout the year and acted as an insurance
against the failure of one crop. In recent years farmers have begun to receive economic incentives to grow cash
crops for national or international markets, rather than to supply local needs. This has resulted in local food
shortages, unemployment (cash crops are usually mechanised), landlessness and increased vulnerability to
drought and floods.

3.9.4 Ethical and moral values

Ethical values related to biodiversity conservation are based on the importance of protecting all forms of life. All
forms of life have the right to exist on earth. Man is only a small part of the Earth’s great family of species. Don’t
plants and animals have an equal right to live and exist on our planet which is like an inhabited spaceship? We do
not know if life as we know it exists elsewhere in the universe. Do we have the right to destroy life forms or do we
have a duty to protect them? Apart from the economic importance of conserving biodiversity, there are several
cultural, moral and ethical values which are associated with the sanctity of all forms of life. Indian civilization has
over several generations preserved nature through local traditions. This has been an important part of the ancient
philosophy of many of our cultures. We have in our country a large number of sacred groves (Kaavu) preserved by
tribal people in several States. These sacred groves around ancient sacred sites and temples act as gene banks of
wild plants.

3.9.5 Aesthetic value

Knowledge and an appreciation of the presence of biodiversity for its own sake is another reason to preserve it.
Quite apart from killing wildlife for food, it is important as a tourist attraction. Biodiversity is a beautiful and
wonderful aspect of nature. Sit in a forest and listen to the birds. Watch a spider weave its complex web. Observe
a fish feeding. It is magnificent and fascinating. Symbols from wild species such as the lion of Hinduism, the
elephant of Buddhism and deities such as Lord Ganesh, and the vehicles of several deities that are animals, have
been venerated for thousands of years. Valmiki begins his epic story with a couplet on the unfortunate killing of a
crane by a hunter. The ‘Tulsi’ (thulasi) has been placed at our doorsteps for centuries.

3.9.6 Option value

Keeping future possibilities open for their use is called option value. It is impossible to predict which of our species
or traditional varieties of crops and domestic animals will be of great use in the future. To continue to improve
cultivars and domestic livestock, we need to return to wild relatives of crop plants and animals. Thus, the
preservation of biodiversity must also include traditionally used strains already in existence in crops and domestic
animals.

3.10 BIODIVERSITY AT GLOBAL, NATIONAL AND LOCAL LEVELS

There are at present 1.8 million species known and documented by scientists in the world. However, scientists
have estimated that the number of species of plants and animals on earth could vary from 1.5 to 20 billion! Thus
the majority of species are yet to be discovered. Most of the world’s bio-rich nations are in the South, which are
the developing nations. In contrast, the majority of the countries capable of exploiting biodiversity are Northern
nations, in the economically developed world. These nations however have low levels of biodiversity. Thus, the
developed world has come to support the concept that biodiversity must be considered to be a ‘global resource’.
However, if biodiversity should form a ‘common property resource’ to be shared by all nations, there is no reason
to exclude oil, or uranium, or even intellectual and technological expertise as global assets. India’s sovereignty over
its biological diversity cannot be compromised without a revolutionary change in world thinking about sharing of
all types of natural resources.
Countries with diversities higher than India are located in Africa, South America such as Brazil, and South
East Asian countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. The species found in these countries, however, are different
from our own. This makes it imperative to preserve our own biodiversity as a major economic resource. While few
of the other ‘megadiversity nations’ have developed the technology to exploit their species for biotechnology and
genetic engineering, India is capable of doing so. Throughout the world, the value of biologically rich natural areas
is now being increasingly appreciated as being of unimaginable value. International agreements such as the World
Heritage Convention attempt to protect and support such areas. India is a signatory to the convention and has
included several protected Areas as World Heritage sites. These include Manas on the border between Bhutan and
India, Kaziranga in Assam, Bharatpur in U.P., Nandadevi in the Himalayas, the Sunderbans in the Ganges delta in
West Bengal and the Western Ghats in Peninsular India (South India). India has also signed the Convention in the
Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) which is intended to reduce the utilization of endangered plants and animals
by controlling trade in their products and in the pet trade.

3.11 INDIA AS A MEGA BIODIVERSITY NATION

Geological events in the landmass of India have provided conditions for high levels of biological diversity. A split in
the single giant continent around 70 million years ago, led to the formation of northern and southern continents,
with India a part of Gondwanaland - the southern landmass, together with Africa, Australia and the Antarctic. Later
tectonic movements shifted India northward across the equator to join the Northern Eurasian continent. As the
intervening shallow Tethis Sea closed down, plants and animals that had evolved both in Europe and in the Far-
East migrated to India before the Himalayas had formed. A final influx came from Africa with Ethiopian species,
which, were adapted to the Savannas and semi-arid regions. Thus, India’s special geographical position between
three distinctive centres of biological evolution and radiation of species is responsible for our rich and varied
biodiversity. Among the biologically rich nations, India stands among the top 15 countries for its great diversity of
plants and animals, many of which are not found elsewhere. India has 350 different mammals (rated eighth
highest in the world), 1,200 species of birds (eighth in the world), 453 species of reptiles (fifth in the world) and
45,000 plant species, of which most are angiosperms (fifteenth in the world). These include especially high species
diversity of fern and fern allies (1022 species) and orchids (1082 species). India has 50,000 known species of
insects, including 13,000 butterflies and moths. It is estimated that the number of unknown species could be
several times higher. It is estimated that 18% of Indian plants are endemic to the country and found nowhere else
in the world. Among the plant species the flowering plants have a much higher degree of endemism, a third of
these are not found elsewhere in the world. Among the amphibians, 62% are unique to this country. Among
lizards, of the 153 species recorded, 50% are endemic. High endemism has also been recorded for various groups
of insects, marine worms, centipedes, mayflies and freshwater sponges. Apart from the high biodiversity of Indian
wild plants and animals there is also a great diversity of cultivated crops and breeds of domestic livestock. This is a
result of several thousand years during which civilizations have grown and flourished in the Indian subcontinent.
The traditional cultivars included 30,000 to 50,000 varieties of rice and a number of cereals, vegetables and fruit.
The highest diversity of cultivars is concentrated in the high rainfall areas of the Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats,
Northern Himalayas and the North-Eastern hills. Gene-banks have collected over 34,000 cereals and 22,000 pulses
grown in India. India has 27 indigenous breeds of cattle, 40 breeds of sheep,
22 breeds of goats and 8 breeds of buffaloes.

3.12 HOTSPOTS OF BIODIVERSITY

The earth’s biodiversity is distributed in specific ecological regions. There are over a thousand major ecoregions in
the world. Of these, 200 are said to be the richest, rarest and most distinctive natural areas. These areas are
referred to as the Global 200. It has been estimated that 50,000 endemic plants which comprise 20% of global
plant life, probably occur in only 18 ‘hotspots’ in the world. Countries which have a relatively large proportion of
these hot spots of diversity are referred to as ‘megadiversity nations’. The rate at which the extinction of species is
occurring throughout our country remains obscure. It is likely to be extremely high as our wilderness areas are
shrinking rapidly. Our globally accepted national ‘hotspots’ are in the forests of the North-East and the Western
Ghats, which are included in the world’s most biorich areas. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are extremely rich
in species and many subspecies of different animals and birds have evolved. Among the endemic species i.e. those
species found only in India, a large proportion are concentrated in these three areas. The Andaman and Nicobar
Islands alone have as many as 2200 species of flowering plants and 120 species of ferns. Out of 135 genera of land
mammals in India, 85 (63%) are found in the Northeast. The Northeast States have 1,500 endemic plant species. A
major proportion of amphibian and reptile species, especially snakes, are concentrated in the Western Ghats,
which is also a habitat for 1,500 endemic plant species. Coral reefs in Indian waters surround the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep Islands, the Gulf areas of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. They are nearly as rich in species
as tropical evergreen forests!

3.13 THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY: HABITAT LOSS, POACHING OF WILDLIFE, MAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICTS

Man has begun to overuse or misuse most of these natural ecosystems. Due to this ‘unsustainable’ resource-use,
once productive forests and grasslands have been turned into deserts and wasteland have increased all over the
world. Mangroves have been cleared for fuel-wood and prawn-farming, which has led to a decrease in the habitat
essential for breeding of marine fish. Wetlands have been drained to increase agricultural land. These changes
have grave economic implications in the longer term. The current destruction of the remaining large areas of
wilderness habitats, especially in the super diverse tropical forests and coral reefs, is the most important threat
worldwide to biodiversity. Scientists have estimated that human activities are likely to eliminate approximately 10
million species by the year 2050. There are about 1.8 million species of plants and animals, both large and
microscopic, known to science in the world at present. The number of species however is likely to be greater by a
factor of at least 10. Plants and insects as well as other forms of life not known to science are continually being
identified in the worlds’ ‘hotspots’ of diversity. Unfortunately at the present rate of extinction about 25% of the
worlds’ species will undergo extinction fairly rapidly. This may occur at the rate of 10 to 20 thousand species per
year, a thousand to ten thousand times faster than the expected natural rate! Human actions could well
exterminate 25% of the world’s species within the next twenty or thirty years. Much of this mega extinction spasm
is related to human population growth, industrialization and changes in land-use patterns. A major part of these
extinctions will occur in ‘biorich’ areas such as tropical forests, wetlands, and coral reefs. The loss of wild habitats
due to rapid human population growth and short term economic development are major contributors to the rapid
global destruction of biodiversity.
Island flora and fauna having high endemism in small isolated areas surrounded by sea have so far been
most seriously affected by human activity, which has already led to extinction of many island plants and animals
(the dodo is a famous example). Habitat loss also results from man’s introduction of species from one area into
another, disturbing the balance in existing communities. In the process, the purposely or accidentally introduced
organisms have led to the extinction of many local species. Loss of species occurs due to the destruction of natural
ecosystems, either for conversion to agriculture or industry, or by over-extraction of
their resources, or through pollution of air, water and soil.
In India, forests and grasslands are continuously being changed to agricultural land. Encroachments have
been legalized repeatedly. Similarly, natural wetland systems have been drained to establish croplands resulting in
loss of aquatic species. Grasslands that were once sustainably used by a relatively smaller number of human beings
and their cattle are either changed to other forms of use or degraded by overgrazing.
Our natural forests are being deforested for timber and replanted using teak, sal or other single species
for their timber value. Such plantations do not support the same biological diversity as a multi-storied natural
forest, which has a closed canopy and a rich understorey of vegetation. When excessive firewood is collected from
the forest by lopping the branches of trees, the forest canopy is opened up and this alters local biodiversity.
Foraging cattle retard the regeneration of the forest as seedlings are constantly trampled.
 Increasing human population on the fringes of our Protected Areas degrade forest ecosystems. This is a
major factor to consider in evaluating the quality of the ecosystem. Repeated fires started by local grazers to
increase grass growth ultimately reduces regeneration and lowers the diversity of plant species. Without alternate
sources of fodder this pressure cannot be decreased. Another factor that disrupts forest biodiversity is the
introduction of exotic weeds which are not a part of the natural vegetation. Common examples in India are lantana
bushes, Eupatorium shrubs and ‘congress’ grass. These have been imported into the country from abroad and have
invaded several large tracts of our natural forests. These weeds spread at the expense of the diverse range of
indigenous undergrowth species. The impact on the diversity of insect, bird and other wildlife species, though not
adequately studied, is quite obvious. In our country a variety of traditional farming techniques have evolved over
several centuries. Cultivation by slash and burn in the Himalayas, and ‘rab’ by lopping of tree branches to act as a
wood-ash fertilizer in the Western Ghats, are two such systems. When human population in these areas was low,
these were sustainable methods of agriculture. Unfortunately these areas now have a large number of people who
subsist largely on forest agriculture. These methods are now unsustainable and are leading to a loss of forest
biodiversity.
Overharvesting of fish, especially by trawling is leading to serious depletion of fish stocks. Turtles
are being massacred off the coast of Orissa. The rare whale shark, a highly endangered species, is being killed off
the coast of Gujarat. Poaching: Specific threats to certain animals are related to large economic benefits. Skin and
bones from tigers, ivory from elephants, horns from rhinos and the perfume from the must deer are extensively
used abroad. Bears are killed for their gall bladders. Corals and shells are also collected for export or sold on the
beaches of Chennai and Kanyakumari. A variety of wild plants with real or at times dubious medicinal value are
being over harvested. The commonly collected plants include Rauvolfia, Nuxvomica, Datura, etc. Collection of
garden plants includes orchids, ferns and moss.

3.14 ENDANGERED AND ENDEMIC SPECIES OF INDIA

To appreciate the endemic and endangered species of India it is important to understand the wide variety of plant
and animal species that are found in the country. Of the well-known species, there are several which are
endangered by human activity. The endangered species in the country are categorised as Vulnerable, Rare,
Indeterminate and Threatened. Other species are found only in India and are thus endemic or restricted to our
country. Some of these may have very localized distribution and are considered highly endemic.
Several plant and animal species in the country are now found in only one or a few Protected Areas.
Among the important endangered animals are charismatic species such as the tiger, the elephant, the rhino, etc.
The less well-known major mammals restricted to a single area include the Indian wild ass, Kashmir stag, the
Golden langur, the pygmy hog and a host of others. There are also endangered bird species such as the Siberian
crane, the Great Indian Bustard, the Florican and several birds of prey. During the recent past, vultures which were
common a decade ago, have suddenly disappeared and are now highly threatened. Equally threatened are several
species of reptiles and amphibians. Many invertebrates are also threatened, including a large number of species
that inhabit our coral reefs.
Many plant species are now increasingly threatened due to changes in their habitats induced by human
activity. Apart from major trees, shrubs and climbers that are extremely habitat specific and thus endangered,
there are thousands of small herbs which are greatly threatened by habitat loss. Several orchids are yet another
group of plants that are under threat. Many plants are threatened due to overharvesting as ingredients in
medicinal products.
To protect the endangered species, India has created the Wildlife Protection Act. This includes lists of
plants and animals categorised according to the threat on their survival. We know so little about the species
diversity of our country, there are several groups of which we negligible information. Most of us are only aware of
the plight of a few glamorous large mammals, but we need to appreciate the threat to the less known species of
plants and animals. We need to find ways to support the conservation of our incredible wildlife for future
generations.

3.14.1 Common Plant species

Teak (thaekku): Tectona grandis is a tree from the Southwest parts of peninsular India. It is a common tree in
deciduous forests. It yields a much sought after timber used for making excellent furniture. During the early British
period it was cut down from many forest tracts to build ships. As the stocks were diminishing, the British selected
areas which they called Reserved Forests where teak was planted for the Government’s use. Teak is grown
extensively by the Forest Department and is a highly priced wood. The teak tree is identified by its large leaves,
which grow to more than 50 cm long and 20 cm wide. It has tiny flowers and fruits. In winter, the trees shed all
their leaves. In the growing season, which begins in April and extends through the monsoon, teak forests are bright
green and shady. Most natural teak forests have various other species of plants and have a large number of wild
animals. Some areas of teak forests that have exceptional populations of wildlife have been included in our
National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.

Sal: This is a common species of several types of forests of the Northeastern region of India, extending into
Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. It has bright green foliage and its canopy remains green nearly throughout the year.
Sal wood is hard and durable. Sal gets a large number of seeds which are used in making cosmetics. The sal forests
are rich in wild mammals, birds, reptiles and insect life. Several areas are included in our network of National Parks
and Sanctuaries.

Mango (maavu): Mangifera indica has become one of our most popular horticultural species with different
varieties grown all over the country. The wild mango tree has small tangy fruit and a big seed in comparison to the
large pulpy fruit used in horticulture. The mango tree is an evergreen species and gets small flowers that are
pollinated by insects. In the forest, fruit dependent animals such as monkeys, squirrels and fruit eating birds relish
its ripe fruit.

Mango Ficus Neem

Ficus spp.: Peepal, Banyan and many other Ficus species form a part of this group of important trees. They are all
ecologically of great importance as many different species of insects, birds and mammals live on Ficus berries. The
flowers are inside the berries. They are pollinated by a specific wasp which lays its eggs inside the berries on which
the larvae feed and grow. The Ficus trees bear berries throughout the year, thus supplying nutritious food to
several animal species when other trees have no fruit. Ficus species are thus known as ‘keystone’ species in the
ecosystem and support a major part of the food web in several ecosystems. Ficus trees such as Peepal and Banyan
are considered sacred and are protected in India.

Neem (vembu): This species is known as Azadirachta Indica. It has been traditionally used in indigenous medicine.
It has small yellow fruit. The leaves and fruit are bitter to taste. It is used extensively as an environmentally friendly
insecticide. It grows extremely well in semi-arid regions and can be planted in afforestation programs where soil is
poor and rainfall is low.

Tamarind (puzhi): Tamarindus indica is one of the best known Indian trees, it grows to a large size and is known to
live for over 200 years. Its familiar fruit is a curved pod with sour pulp and contains a number of squarish seeds.
The pulp in the fresh fruit is either green or red. As it ripens, it turns sticky and brown and separates from the skin.
The tree is commonly cultivated as a shade tree and for its edible sour fruit which contains high concentrations of
vitamin C. It is used as an additive in food to give a tangy flavour. It is valued for its fuel-wood.
Zizyphus (elanthai): These are the typical small trees and shrubs that are found in the arid and semi-arid areas of
India. Ziziphus jujuba is the most common species. The fruits are edible. It is a favourite of frugivorous birds (fruit
eating birds). The tree fruits extensively and is eaten by a variety of birds and mammals. The popular fruit is
commonly collected and sold in local markets.

Syzygium (naaval): Sysygium cumini is an evergreen species which has a tasty purple fruit. It is a favourite of not
only people but also of many wild birds and mammals. It grows in many parts of India and has several varieties
with fruits of different sizes.

Jackfruit (palaa): Artocarpus integrifolius is a tree that is planted around most southern villages and has huge fruit
growing from its trunk and branches. The fruit has a prickly skin. The fruit when unripe is cooked. Once ripe, it is
eaten raw after it turns into a sweet, sticky, golden-yellow fruit which has a strong odour.

Flame of the Forest: Butea monosperma is a tree that grows in many parts of India. It has bright orange flowers
when it is leafless, thus it is called the ‘flame of the forest’. The flowers are full of nectar which attracts monkeys
and many nectar-dependent birds.

Coral Tree (mullumurukku): Erythrina variegata, a common deciduous tree that is leafless in February when it gets
bright scarlet flowers that are used for their nectar by many birds such as mynas, crows and sunbirds, that act as
its major pollinators. Its long black seed pods contain several shiny brown seeds which germinate well. This tree
can also be propagated by cutting and planting its young branches. It is a fast growing tree and usually begins to
flower in four to five years time.

Indian gooseberry (nellikkai): Phyllanthus emblica, a deciduous medium-sized tree is known for its sour, green-
yellow fruit which is rich in vitamin C. It is used as a medicine, in pickles and for dying and tanning. It is frequently
referred to as the Indian ‘olive’, to which it has no similarity either in appearance or taste.

Butea Syzygium Erythrina

Pine: There are 5 Pinus species of true pines that are found in India in the Himalayan region. The timber of these
trees is frequently used in construction, carpentry and the paper industry. Pine resin is used to make turpentine,
rosin, tar and pitch. Pine oils are obtained by distillation of leaves and shoots. Pine leaves are thin and needle-like.
The male and female reproductive organs are produced in woody cones. Dispersal of pollen is aided by each grain
having two wings.

Cycas (chazha): Cycas circinalis is a common species in South India and have a palm-like appearance. Cycads along
with conifers make up the gymnosperms. They are among the most primitive seed plants, and have
remained virtually unchanged through the past 200 million years. There are five species found in India, mostly in
high rainfall areas.

Coconut (thaengaai): Cocos nucifera is a tall stately palm with a more or less straight trunk with circular markings.
It mostly grows in coastal plains. The base is surrounded by a mass of fine roots. It produces the familiar coconut,
filled with liquid and a soft white edible, initially jelly like material that hardens when the fruit ripens. It is a
common ingredient of food in India, especially in the Southern States. It is extensively cultivated along the coastal
regions and islands of India. Most parts of the tree yield several useful products such as broomsticks from its
leaves and fiber from the husk of dried coconuts.

Pine Orchid Sundew plant

Orchids: This is the largest group of flowering plants in the world with over 18,000 known species. Of these, 1500
species are found in India, making it one of the largest families of plants in the country with a high concentration of
a staggering 700 species in the Northeastern States. These plants are terrestrial (growing on soil) or epiphytic
(growing on trees) herbs. Flowers show a range of bright colours and great variations in structure. In some species,
one of the petals is distinct from the others and is called a lip or labellum. This colourful petal attracts pollinators.
In India a large number of orchid species are found in the Western Ghats, the Northeast, and the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands. Orchids are however seen in several ecological conditions except extremes such as very cold or
very hot and dry ecosystems.

Drosera (sundew plant): This is a small insectivorous plant, usually 5 or 6 cm in height, which has tiny hair which
secrete a sticky droplet of fluid on which insects get stuck. The leaf winds around the struggling insect which is
then slowly digested. The plant has pretty flowers. It grows in shallow poor quality soil. It is a rare plant and is
found in small patches.

Lotus (thaamarai): Nelumbo nucifera is an aquatic floating plant with a large rhizome, which is rooted in mud. Its
leaves are circular flat and covered with a waxy coating which protects it from water. The flower grows on an erect
stalk with several petals ranging from pink to white. The fruit is a spongy cone with multiple round seeds. It is
widely distributed in wetland habitats and shallow parts of lakes and marshy areas. The rhizome, stalks of the
leaves and seeds are considered delicacies. The fruit is used in dry decorations. The flower has been a traditional
motif in Indian art. The lotus is the National flower of India.

Grasses: Grasses form the second largest group of flowering plants in the world. They are a very important group
of plants as they are used for various purposes such as making fiber, paper, thatching material for roofs, oil, gum,
medicines and many other useful products. The economically important grasses include sugarcane, bamboo and
cereals like rice, wheat, millets, maize, etc. Grasses are important as they provide fodder for domestic animals.

Bamboo: This is a group of large woody grass that grow as a clump to great heights in many forests of India. It is
extremely useful and is used for constructing huts and making several useful household articles in rural areas such
as baskets, farm implements, fences, household implements, matting, etc. The young shoots are used as food. It is
extensively used in the pulp and paper industry as a raw material. Bamboos flower after more than two decades.
The plant then dies. The flowering produces thousands of seeds which results in the slow re-growth of the
bamboo. Bamboo is a favorite food of elephants and other large herbivores of the forest such as gaur and deer.

3.14.2 Common Animal species

Mammals
The common deer species found in India include the sambar, spotted deer, swamp deer and barking deer. Sambar
live in small herds especially in hilly forested areas and feed mainly on shrubs and leaves of low branches. They are
dark brown in colour and have large thick antlers, each having three branches. Spotted deer (chital) live in large
herds in forest clearings where they graze on grass. They have a rust-brown body with white spots which
camouflage them in the vegetation. Each antler has three branches called tines. Swamp deer (barasingha) has
wide hoofs that enable this animal to live in boggy areas of the Terai. Each antler has 6 or more branches. Barking
deer is a small animal that lives in forest areas all over India. It has two ridges on its face and a short antler with
only two branches. Its call sounds like the bark of a dog. Black buck is the only true antelope found in India. It lives
in large herds. The males are black on top and cream below and have beautiful spiral horns that form a ‘V’ shape.
Nilgai is the largest of the dry-land herbivores. The males are blue-grey. Nilgai have white markings on the legs and
head. They have short strong spike-like horns.

Himalayan pastures support several species of wild goats and sheep, many of them restricted to the region, like
the goral and the Himalayan tahr. A single species, the Nilgiri tahr (Tamil Nadu State animal) is found in the
Western Ghats south of Nilgris in south India.

The wild buffalo is now also restricted to the Terai. Gaur, the largest cattle in the world, is found in patches in
several well-wooded parts of India.

A very rare species is the Indian wild ass, endemic to the Little Rann of Kutch.

The rhinocerous is now restricted to Assam but was once found throughout the Gangetic plains.

The elephant is distributed in the Northeastern and Southern States. It is threatened due to habitat loss and
poaching for ivory.

The best known predator of our forests is the tiger. Its gold and black stripes hide it perfectly in the forest
undergrowth. It preys on herbivores such as sambar or chital or less frequently on domestic animals. The tiger kills
only three or four times a month. Its numbers have declined due to poaching for its superb skin, and for the
supposed magical value of its teeth, claws and whiskers. In the recent past it has been extensively killed for the
supposed medicinal properties of its bones that are used in Chinese medicine. The Asiatic lion is now found only in
the Gir forests of Gujarat. The leopard is more adaptable than the tiger and lives both in thick forests and
degraded forest areas. Its beautiful ring like markings camouflage it so perfectly that its prey cannot see its stealthy
approach. The most typical predator of the Himalayas is the snow leopard, which is very rare and poached for its
beautiful skin which is pale grey with dark grey ring-like markings. The wolf, jackal, fox and the wild dog or ‘dhole’
form a group called canids. Another threatened predator is the Himalayan wolf. The wolves are now highly
threatened as they have become increasingly dependent on shepherd’s flocks. Thus, shepherds constantly find
ways to kill the wolves.

The common monkey species of the forests are the bonnet macaque, which has a red face, a very long tail and a
whorl of hair on the scalp which looks like a cap and the rhesus macaque, which is smaller and has a shorter tail
than the bonnet. A rare macaque is the lion-tailed macaque found only in a few forests of the southern Western
Ghats and Annamalai ranges. It is black in colour, has long hair, a grey mane and a tassel at the end of its tail that
looks like a lion’s tail. The common langur has a black face and is known as the Hanuman monkey. The rare golden
langur, is golden yellow in colour and lives along the banks of the Manas River in Assam. The capped langur is an
uncommon species of Northeast India. The rare black nilgiri langur lives in the southern Western Ghats, Nilgiris
and Annamalais.
 Black Buck Spotted deer Swamp deer Nilgai Nilgiri tahr Wild ass

Wolf Fox Tiger Leopard Snow leopard

Birds
There are over 1200 bird species found in India in different habitats. Most of our forest birds are specially adapted
to life in certain forest types. Some Himalayan species however can also be seen in the Western
Ghats. There are several species of Hornbills that live on fruits (Frugivores). They have heavy curved beaks with a
projection on top. Others such as parakeets, barbets and bulbuls are often seen eating Ficus fruits such as those of
banyan and peepal.

Insectivorous birds of many species live on forest insects. They include species of flycatchers, bee-eaters and
others. The male paradise flycatcher is a small beautiful white bird with a black head and two long white trailing
tail feathers. The female is brown and does not have the long tail feathers. There are several eagles, falcons and
kites many of which are now endangered.

Grasslands support many species of birds. The most threatened species is the Great Indian bustard, a large, brown
stately bird with long legs which struts about through grasslands looking for locusts and grasshoppers. Another
rare group of threatened birds are the floricans. There are many species of quails, partridges, larks, munias and
other grain eating birds that are adapted to grasslands.

There are several species of aquatic birds such as waders, gulls and terns, which live along the seashore and go out
fishing many kilometers to the sea. Many of these birds have lost their coastal habitats due to pollution. Aquatic
birds in freshwater are those with long legs and are known as waders such as stilts and sandpipers. The other
group form birds that swim on water such as several species of ducks and geese. There are many species of
spectacular large birds associated with water or marshy areas. These include different species of storks, cranes,
spoonbills, flamingos and pelicans. Many aquatic species are migrants. They breed in Northern Europe or Siberia
and come to India in thousands during winter.

Hornbill Paradise flycatcher Bee-eater Falcon Bustard Quail Stilt Flamingo

Reptiles
India has a wide variety of lizards, snakes and turtles, with a high level of endemism. The lizards include the
common garden lizard, fan-throated lizard, chamelion, skink and monitor lizard. Some of these are threatened
due to trade in reptile skins. Indian snakes include the Rock Python, Cobra, King cobra, Russell’s viper and the
Vine snake. We rarely appreciate the fact that only a few species of snakes are poisonous and most snakes are
harmless.
The Star tortoise and the Travancore tortoise are now rare. The Olive Ridley and Flapshell turtle are the well-
known turtles of India. Many turtles are becoming increasingly rare due to poaching of adults and eggs. The
crocodile is our largest reptile which is poached for its prized skin. The gharial is endemic to India and is highly
threatened.

Monitor lizard Fan-throated lizard Star tortoise Gharial

Amphibians
Most of the amphibians found in India are frogs and toads. These include several species like the Indian Bull frog,
Tree frog, etc. These amphibians are mostly found in the hotspots in the Northeast and the Western Ghats. It is
now thought that global warming and increasing levels of UV radiation may be seriously affecting amphibian
populations in some areas.

Bull frog Tree frog

Invertebrates
Invertebrates include a variety of taxa that inhabit both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Microscopic animals
like protozoa and zooplankton form the basis of the food chain in aquatic habitats. Coral is formed by colonies of
polyp like animals. Worms, mollusks (snails), spiders, crabs, jellyfish, octopus are a few of the better known
invertebrates found in India.

There are more than a million insect species on earth that are known to science. They include grasshoppers, bugs,
beetles, ants, bees, wasps, butterflies and moths. India is rich in its butterfly and moth species.

Snail Beetle Spider Crab

Marine Life
Marine ecosystems are most frequently associated with fish and crustacea like crabs and shrimps, which we use as
food. The other species that are endangered include the marine turtles, which are reptiles, and whales that are
mammals. There are a large number of species of freshwater fish found in Indian rivers and lakes that are now
threatened by the introduction of fish from abroad as well as due to being introduced from one river into another.
Fish are also now seriously affected by pollution. Marine fisheries are being over harvested in our coastal waters
and the fish catch has decreased seriously over the last few years. Mechanized boats with giant, small-meshed
nets are a major cause of depleting this resource. There are many endangered fish such as the Mahseer which
once grew to over a meter in length. Many species of marine animals such as the whales, sharks and dolphins that
live in the Indian Ocean are now threatened due to fishing in the deep sea.
 Octopus Shark whale dolphin

3.15 CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY

2.15.1 In-situ conservation
In-situ conservation means protecting organisms in their natural habitats. Biodiversity at all levels, genetic species
and as intact ecosystems, can be best preserved in-situ by setting aside an adequate representation of wilderness
as ‘Protected Areas’. These should consist of a network of National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries with each
distinctive ecosystem included in the network. Such a network would preserve the total diversity of life of a region.
In the past National Parks and Sanctuaries in India were notified to preserve major wildlife species such as tigers,
lions, elephants and deer. The objective of these areas should be expanded to the preservation of relatively intact
natural ecosystems, where biological diversity - from microscopic unicellular plants and animals to the giant trees
and major mammals - can all be preserved. However, species cannot be protected individually as they are all inter
dependent on each other. Thus, the whole ecosystem must be protected. The biologist’s point of view deals with
areas that are relatively species-rich or those where rare, threatened or endangered species are found or those
with ‘endemic’ species (species which are not found elsewhere in the world). As rare endemic species are found
only in a small area these easily become extinct due to human activity. Such areas must be given an added
importance as their biodiversity is a special feature of the region. Animals such as elephants require different types
of habitat to feed during different seasons. They utilize open grasslands after the rains when the young grass
shoots are highly nutritious. As the grasses dry, the elephants move into the forest to feed on foliage from the
trees. A Protected Area that is meant to protect elephants must therefore be large enough and include diverse
habitat types to support a complete complement of inter linked species.

Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks of India: There are 589 Protected Areas in India of which 89 are National
Parks and 500 are Wildlife Sanctuaries. They include a variety of ecosystems and habitats. Some have been created
in order to protect highly endangered species of wild plants and animals found nowhere else in the world.

The Great Himalayan National Park is the largest sanctuary in this ecosystem and is one of the last homes of the
beautiful snow leopard. Dachigam Sanctuary is the only place where the rare Kashmir stag is found. There are
several Sanctuaries in the Terai region namely, the Kaziranga National Park which has elephants, wild buffalos,
gaurs, wild boars, swamp deer and hog deer in large numbers, and the critically endangered one-horned rhino as
well as tigers and leopards. Its bird-life is extremely rich and includes ducks, geese, pelicans and storks. The Manas
Sanctuary, in addition to the above Terai species, also includes the rare golden langur and the very rare pygmy
hog, the smallest wild boar in the world. The florican is found only in a few undisturbed grasslands in the Terai
sanctuaries. In the sal forests of Madhya Pradesh, there are several Protected Areas. Kanha offers a wonderful
opportunity to observe tigers from elephant back. It is the only Protected Area in which a sub-species of the
Barasingha is found. Bharatpur is one of the most famous water bird sanctuaries in the world. Thousands of ducks,
geese, herons, and other wading birds can be seen here. This is the only home of the very rare Siberian crane
which migrates to India every winter. During the last 20 years, the 30 or 40 Siberian cranes have dwindled to only 2
or 3. Besides, Vedathangal and Koonthakulam are two notable bird sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu that serve as a haven
for aquatic migrants. In the Thar desert, the wildlife is protected in the Desert National Park. Here, large numbers
of black buck, neelgai and chinkara can be seen. The Great Indian Bustard lives in these arid lands. Ranthambor is
the most well known sanctuary for observing tigers in the wild. The Great and the Little Rann of Kutch have been
made into sanctuaries to protect the very rare and endemic wild ass, the flamingo, the star tortoise and the desert
fox. In Gujarat, the Gir Sanctuary protects the last population of the majestic Asiatic lion. This thorn and deciduous
forest is also the home for large herds of chital, sambar and nilgai.
 The Sanctuaries of the Western Ghats and associated hill ranges protect some of the most diverse forest
types in the country. The few examples of highly threatened species include the Malabar giant squirrel, the flying
squirrel, a variety of hill birds, several species of amphibians, reptiles and insects. These regions are also rich in
highly endemic plant life. Sanctuaries such as Bhimashankar, Koyana, Chandoli and Radhanagari preserve this rich
flora in Maharashtra, Bandipur, Bhadra, Dandeli, Nagarhole, etc. in Karnataka, Eraviculum, Perambiculum,
Periyar and Silent Valley in Kerala, Mudumalai, Anamalai, Agasthyamalai Grizzled giant squirrel sanctuary at
Srivilliputhur, etc. in Tamil Nadu. In the Nilgiri Hills has been declared as a Biosphere Reserve and includes the rich
forest Sanctuaries that protect some of the last pockets of the Indian elephant in South India namely Bandipur,
Mudumalai, Wynad and Bhadra.
Two important sanctuaries meant for the preservation of coastal ecosystems are the Chilka Lake
and Point Calimere. The Sunderbans protect the largest mangrove delta in India. The Marine National Park in
Gujarat protects shallow areas in the sea, islands, coral reefs and extensive mudflats. Similarly, the Gulf of Mannar
Biosphere Reserve situated in Tamil Nadu is yet another example for marine biodiversity conservation. Over a
hundred Protected Areas have been created in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to preserve their very special
island ecosystems.

3.15.2 Ex-situ conservation

Conservation of a species is best done by protecting its habitat along with all the other species that live there.
However, there are situations in which an endangered species is so close to extinction that unless alternate
methods are instituted, the species may be rapidly driven to extinction. This strategy is known as ex-situ
conservation, i.e., outside its natural habitat in a carefully controlled situation such as a botanical garden for plants
or a zoological park (zoo) for animals, where there is expertise to multiply the species under artificially managed
conditions. These breeding programs for rare plants and animals are however more expensive than managing a
Protected Area.
There is also another form of preserving a plant by preserving its germplasm in a gene bank so that it can
be used if needed in future. This is even more expensive. When an animal is on the brink of extinction, it must be
carefully bred so that inbreeding does not lead to the genetic makeup becoming weak. Breeding from the same
stock can lead to poorly adapted progeny or even inability to get enough offspring. Modern breeding programs are
done in zoos that provide for all the animal’s needs, including enclosures that simulate their wild habitats. There
may also be a need to assist breeding artificially. Thus while most zoos are meant to provide visitors with a visual
experience of seeing a wild animal close up, and provide the visitors with information about the species, a modern
zoo has to go beyond these functions that include breeding of endangered species as a conservation measure.
In India, successful ex situ conservation programs have been done for all our three species of crocodiles.
This has been highly successful. Another recent success has been the breeding of the very rare pygmy hog in
Gauhati zoo. Delhi zoo has successfully bred the rare Manipur brow antlered deer. However, the most important
step to a successful breeding program is the reintroduction of a species into its original wild habitat. This requires
rehabilitation of the degraded habitat and removal of the other causes such as poaching, disturbance, or other
manmade influences that have been the primary cause of reducing the population of the species.

Conservation of cultivars and livestock breeds: There were an estimated thirty thousand varieties of rice grown in
India till about 50 years ago. Now only a few of these are still grown. The new varieties which are now being
cultivated everywhere have been developed using germplasm of these original types of rice. If all the traditional
varieties vanish completely it will be difficult to develop new disease resistant varieties of rice in the future. Several
varieties have been preserved in gene banks. However, this is both very expensive and risky. Encouraging farmers
to continue to grow several traditional varieties is thus an important concern for the future of mankind. At present
gene bank collections have over 34 thousand cereals and 22 thousand pulses.
In the past, domestic animals were selected and bred for their ability to adapt to local conditions.
Traditional agropastoralists in India have selectively bred livestock for 2 to 3 thousand years. India has 27 breeds of
cattle, 40 breeds of sheep, 22 breeds of goats, and 8 breeds of buffaloes. These traditional breeds must be
maintained for their genetic variability.
UNIT 4: Pollution

4.1 DEFINITION
Pollution is the effect of undesirable changes in our surroundings that have harmful effects on plants, animals and
human beings. This occurs when only short-term economic gains are made at the cost of the long-term ecological
benefits for humanity. No natural phenomenon has led to greater ecological changes than have been made by
mankind. During the last few decades we have contaminated our air, water and land on which life itself depends
with a variety of waste products.
Pollutants include solid, liquid or gaseous substances present in greater than natural abundance produced
due to human activity, which have a detrimental effect on our environment. The nature and concentration of a
pollutant determines the severity of detrimental effects on human health. An average human requires about 12 kg
of air each day, which is nearly 12 to15 times greater than the amount of food we eat. Thus, even a small
concentration of pollutants in the air becomes more significant in comparison to the similar levels present in food.
Pollutants that enter water have the ability to spread to distant places especially in the marine ecosystem.
From an ecological perspective pollutants can be classified as follows:
Degradable or non-persistent pollutants: These can be rapidly broken down by natural processes.
Eg: domestic sewage, discarded vegetables, etc.
Slowly degradable or persistent pollutants: Pollutants that remain in the environment for many years in an
unchanged condition and take decades or longer to degrade. Eg: DDT and most plastics.
Non-degradable pollutants: These cannot be degraded by natural processes. Once they are released into the
environment they are difficult to eradicate and continue to accumulate. Eg: toxic elements like lead or mercury.

4.2 CAUSES, EFFECTS AND CONTROL MEASURES OF POLLUTION

4.2.1 Air Pollution
History of air pollution: The origin of air pollution on the earth can be traced from the times when man started
using firewood as a means of cooking and heating. Hippocrates (Father of Western Medicine) has mentioned air
pollution in 400 BC. With the discovery and increasing use of coal, air pollution became more pronounced
especially in urban areas. It was recognized as a problem 700 years ago in London in the form of smoke pollution,
which prompted King Edward I to make the first antipollution law to restrict people from using coal for domestic
heating in the year 1273. In the year 1300 another Act banning the use of coal was passed. Defying the law led to
imposition of capital punishment. In spite of this air pollution became a serious problem in London during the
industrial revolution due to the use of coal in industries. The earliest recorded major disaster was the ‘London
Smog’ that occurred in 1952 that resulted in more than 4000 deaths due to the accumulation of air pollutants over
the city for five days. In Europe, around the middle of the 19th century, a black form of the Peppered moth was
noticed in industrial areas. Usually the normal Peppered moth is well camouflaged on a clean lichen covered tree.
However, the peppered pattern was easily spotted and picked up by birds on the smoke blackened bark of trees in
the industrial area, while the black form remained well camouflaged. Thus, while the peppered patterned moths
were successful in surviving in clean non-industrial areas, the black coloured moths were successful in industrial
areas. With the spread of industrialization, it has been observed that the black forms are not only seen in
Peppered moth, but also in many other moths.

Black peppered moth

This is a classic case of pollution leading to adaptation. Air pollution began to increase in the beginning of the
twentieth century with the development of the transportation systems and large-scale use of petrol and diesel.
The severe air quality problems due to the formation of photochemical smog from the combustion residues of
diesel and petrol engines were felt for the first time in Los Angeles. Pollution due to auto-exhaust remains a
serious environmental issue in many developed and developing countries including India. The Air Pollution Control
Act in India was passed in 1981 and the Motor Vehicle Act for controlling the air pollution, very recently. These
laws are intended to prevent air from being polluted. The greatest industrial disaster leading to serious air
pollution took place in Bhopal where extremely poisonous methyl isocyanide gas was accidentally released from
the Union Carbide’s pesticide manufacturing plant on the night of December 3rd 1984. The effects of this disaster
on human health and the soil are felt even today.

Structure of the atmosphere

The atmosphere is normally composed of 79 percent nitrogen, 20 percent oxygen and one percent as a mixture of
carbon dioxide, water vapour and trace amounts of several other gases such as neon, helium, methane, krypton,
hydrogen and xenon. The general structure of the atmosphere has several important features that have relevance
to environmental problems. The atmosphere is divided into several layers. The innermost layer the troposphere
extends 17 kilometers above sea level at the equator and about 8 kilometers over the poles. It contains about 75
percent of the mass of the earth’s air. The fragility of this layer is obvious from the fact that if the earth were an
apple this particular layer would be no thicker than an apple’s skin. Temperature declines with altitude in the
troposphere. At the top of the troposphere temperatures abruptly begin to rise. This boundary where this
temperature reversal occurs is called the tropopause. The tropopause marks the end of the troposphere and the
beginning of the stratosphere, the second layer of the atmosphere. The stratosphere extends from 17 to 48
kilometers above the earth’s surface. While the composition of the stratosphere is similar to that of the
troposphere it has two major differences. The volume of water vapour here is about 1000 times less while the
volume of ozone is about 1000 times greater. The presence of ozone in the stratosphere prevents about 99
percent of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation from reaching the earth’s surface thus protecting humans from
cancer and damage to the immune system. This layer does not have clouds and hence airplanes fly in this layer as
it creates less turbulence. Temperature rises with altitude in the stratosphere until there is another reversal. This
point is called the stratopause and it marks the end of the stratosphere and the beginning of the atmosphere’s
next layer, the mesosphere. In the mesosphere the temperature decreases with altitude falling up to –110ºC at the
top. Above this is a layer where ionization of the gases is a major phenomenon, thus increasing the temperature.
This layer is called the thermosphere. Only the lower troposphere is routinely involved in our weather and hence
the air pollution. The other layers are not significant in determining the level of air pollution.

Types and sources of Air Pollution - What is air pollution?

Air pollution occurs due to the presence of undesirable solid or gaseous particles in the air in quantities that are
harmful to human health and the environment. Air may get polluted by natural causes such as volcanoes, which
release ash, dust, sulphur and other gases, or by forest fires that are occasionally naturally caused by lightning.
However, unlike pollutants from human activity, naturally occurring pollutants tend to remain in the atmosphere
for a short time and do not lead to permanent atmospheric change. Pollutants that are emitted directly from
identifiable sources are produced both by natural events (for example, dust storms and volcanic eruptions) and
human activities (emission from vehicles, industries, etc.). These are called primary pollutants. There are five
primary pollutants that together contribute to about 90 percent of the global air pollution. These are carbon
oxides (CO and CO2), nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, volatile organic compounds (mostly hydrocarbons) and
suspended particulate matter. Pollutants that are produced in the atmosphere when certain chemical reactions
take place among the primary pollutants are called secondary pollutants. Eg: sulfuric acid, nitric acid, carbonic acid,
etc.
Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless and toxic gas produced when organic materials such as
natural gas, coal or wood are incompletely burnt. Vehicular exhausts are the single largest source of carbon
monoxide. The number of vehicles has been increasing over the years all over the world. Vehicles are also poorly
maintained and several have inadequate pollution control equipment resulting in release of greater amounts of
carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is however not a persistent pollutant. Natural processes can convert carbon
monoxide to other compounds that are not harmful. Therefore, the air can be cleared of its carbon monoxide if no
new carbon monoxide is introduced into the atmosphere. Sulfur oxides are produced when sulfur containing fossil
fuels are burnt. Nitrogen oxides are found in vehicular exhausts. Nitrogen oxides are significant, as they are
involved in the production of secondary air pollutants such as ozone. Hydrocarbons are a group of compounds
consisting of carbon and hydrogen atoms. They either evaporate from fuel supplies or are remnants of fuel that
did not burn completely. Hydrocarbons are washed out of the air when it rains and run into surface water. They
cause an oily film on the surface and do not as such cause a serious issue until they react to form secondary
pollutants. Using higher oxygen concentrations in the fuel-air mixture and using valves to prevent the escape of
gases, fitting of catalytic converters in automobiles, are some of the modifications that can reduce the release of
hydrocarbons into the atmosphere.
Particulates are small pieces of solid material (for example, smoke particles from fires, bits of asbestos,
dust particles and ash from industries) dispersed into the atmosphere. The effects of particulates range from soot
to the carcinogenic (cancer causing) effects of asbestos, dust particles and ash from industrial plants that are
dispersed into the atmosphere. Repeated exposure to particulates can cause them to accumulate in the lungs and
interfere with the ability of the lungs to exchange gases. Lead is a major air pollutant that remains largely
unmonitored and is emitted by vehicles. High lead levels have been reported in the ambient air in metropolitan
cities. Leaded petrol is the primary source of airborne lead emissions in Indian cities. Pollutants are also found
indoors from infiltration of polluted outside air and from various chemicals used or produced inside buildings. Both
indoor and outdoor air pollution are equally harmful.

Types of particulates
Term Meaning Examples
Aerosol General term for particles suspended in air Sprays from pressurized cans
Mist Aerosol consisting of liquid droplets Sulfuric acid mist
Dust Aerosol consisting of solid particles that are blown into the air or are Dust storm
produced from larger particles by grinding them down
Smoke Aerosol consisting of solid particles or a mixture of solid and liquid Cigarette smoke, smoke from burning
particles produced by chemical reaction such as fires garbage
Fume Generally means the same as smoke but often applies specifically to Zinc/lead fumes
aerosols produced by condensation of hot vapours of metals
Plume Geometrical shape or form of the smoke coming out of a chimney ---------
Fog Aerosol consisting of water droplets ---------
Smog Term used to describe a mixture of smoke and fog ---------

What happens to pollutants in the atmosphere?

Once pollutants enter the troposphere they are transported downwind, diluted by the large volume of air,
transformed through either physical or chemical changes or are removed from the atmosphere by rain during
which they are attached to water vapour that subsequently forms rain or snow that falls to the earth’s surface. The
atmosphere normally disperses pollutants by mixing them in the very large volume of air that covers the earth.
This dilutes the pollutants to acceptable levels. The rate of dispersion however, varies in relation to the following
aspects:

Topography
Normally as the earth’s surface becomes warmed by sunlight the layer of air in contact with the ground is also
heated by convection. This warmer air is less dense than the cold air above it, so it rises. Thus, pollutants produced
in the surface layer are effectively dispersed. However, on a still evening, the process is reversed. An hour or two
before sunset after a sunny day, the ground starts to lose heat and the air near the ground begins to cool rapidly.
Due to the absence of wind, a static layer of cold air is produced as the ground cools. This in turn induces
condensation of fog. The morning sun cannot initially penetrate this fog layer. The cold air being dense cannot rise
and is trapped by the warm air above. It cannot move out of the area due to the surrounding hills. The topographic
features resemble a closed chemical reactor in which the pollutants are trapped. This condition often continues
through the cool night and reaches its maximum intensity before sunrise. When the morning sun warms the
ground the air near the ground also warms up and rises within an hour or two. This may be broken up by strong
winds. In cold regions this situation can persist for several days. Such a situation is known as smog (smoke + fog).
The most well known example is that of the ‘London Smog’ that occurred in 1952. The city used large quantities of
sulphur containing coal for domestic heating that released smoke, along with smoke from thermal power plants
and other industrial establishments. This leads to the generation of high levels of smoke containing sulphur oxides.
Due to a sudden adverse meteorological condition air pollutants like smoke and sulphur oxides started to build-up
in the atmosphere. The white fog accumulated over the city turned black forming a ‘pea-soup’ smog with almost
zero visibility. Within two days of the formation of this smog, people started suffering from acute pulmonary
disorders which caused irritation of bronchi, cough, nasal discharges, sore throat, vomiting and burning sensations
in the eyes. This event led to several deaths.

Meteorological conditions
The velocity of the wind affects the dispersal of pollutants. Strong winds mix polluted air more rapidly with the
surrounding air diluting the pollutants rapidly. When wind velocity is low mixing takes place and the concentration
of pollutants remains high. When sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are transported by prevailing winds they
form secondary pollutants such as nitric acid vapour, droplets of sulfuric acid and particles of sulphate and nitrate
salts. These chemicals descend on the earth’s surface in two forms: wet (as acidic rain, snow, fog and cloud
vapour) and dry (as acidic particles). The resulting mixture is called acid deposition, commonly called acid rain. Acid
deposition has many harmful effects especially when the pH falls below 5.1 for terrestrial systems and below 5.5
for aquatic systems. It contributes to human respiratory diseases such as bronchitis and asthma, which can cause
premature death. It also damages statues, buildings, metals and car finishes. Acid deposition can damage tree
foliage directly but the most serious effect is weakening of trees so they become more susceptible to other types
of damage. The nitric acid and the nitrate salts in acid deposition can lead to excessive soil nitrogen levels. This can
over stimulate growth of other plants and intensify depletion of other important soil nutrients such as calcium and
magnesium, which in turn can reduce tree growth and vigour.

Effects of air pollution on living organisms

Our respiratory system has a number of mechanisms that help in protecting us from air pollution. The hair in our
nostrils filters out large particles. The sticky mucus in the lining of the upper respiratory tract captures smaller
particles and dissolves some gaseous pollutants. When the upper respiratory system is irritated by pollutants,
sneezing and coughing expel contaminated air and mucus. Prolonged smoking or exposure to air pollutants can
overload or breakdown these natural defenses causing or contributing to diseases such as lung cancer, asthma,
chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Elderly people, infants, pregnant women and people with heart disease,
asthma or other respiratory diseases are especially vulnerable to air pollution.
 Cigarette smoking is responsible for the greatest exposure to carbon monoxide. Exposure to air containing
even 0.001 percent of carbon monoxide for several hours can cause collapse, coma and even death. As carbon
monoxide remains attached to haemoglobin in blood for a long time, it accumulates and reduces the oxygen
carrying capacity of blood. This impairs perception and thinking, slows reflexes and causes headaches, drowsiness,
dizziness and nausea. Carbon monoxide in heavy traffic causes headaches, drowsiness and blurred vision. Sulfur
dioxide irritates respiratory tissues. Chronic exposure causes a condition similar to bronchitis. It also reacts with
water, oxygen and other material in the air to form sulfur-containing acids. The acids can become attached to
particles which when inhaled are very corrosive to the lung. Nitrogen oxides especially NO2 can irritate the lungs,
aggravate asthma or chronic bronchitis and also increase susceptibility to respiratory infections such as influenza
or common colds. Suspended particles aggravate bronchitis and asthma. Exposure to these particles over a long
period of time damages lung tissue and contributes to the development of chronic respiratory disease and cancer.
Many volatile organic compounds such as (benzene and formaldehyde) and toxic particulates (such as lead,
cadmium) can cause mutations, reproductive problems or cancer. Inhaling ozone, a component of photochemical
smog causes coughing, chest pain, breathlessness and irritation of the eye, nose and the throat.

Effects on plants
When some gaseous pollutants enter leaf pores they damage the leaves of crop plants. Chronic exposure of the
leaves to air pollutants can break down the waxy coating that helps prevent excessive water loss and leads to
damage from diseases, pests, drought and frost. Such exposure interferes with photosynthesis and plant growth,
reduces nutrient uptake and causes leaves to turn yellow, brown or drop off altogether. At a higher concentration
of sulphur dioxide, majority of the flower buds become stiff and hard. They eventually fall from the plants, as they
are unable to flower. Prolonged exposure to high levels of several air pollutants from smelters, coal burning power
plants and industrial units as well as from cars and trucks can damage trees and other plants.

Effects of air pollution on materials

Every year air pollutants cause damage worth billions of rupees. Air pollutants break down exterior paint on cars
and houses. All around the world air pollutants have discoloured irreplaceable monuments, historic buildings,
marble statues, etc.

Effects of air pollution on the stratosphere

The upper stratosphere consists of considerable amounts of ozone, which works as an effective screen for
ultraviolet light. This region called the ozone layer extends up to 60 km above the surface of the earth. The ozone
though is present up to 60 km its greatest density remains in the region between 20 and 25 km. The ozone layer
does not consist of solely ozone but a mixture of other common atmospheric gases. In the most dense ozone layer
there will be only one ozone molecule in 100,000 gas molecules. Therefore, even small changes in the ozone
concentration can produce dramatic effects on life on earth. The total amount of ozone in a ‘column’ of air from
the earth’s surface up to an altitude of 50 km is the total column ozone. This is recorded in Dobson Units (DU), a
measure of the thickness of the ozone layer by an equivalent layer of pure ozone gas at normal temperature and
pressure at sea level. This means that 100 DU=1mm of pure ozone gas at normal temperature and pressure at sea
level.
Ozone is a form of oxygen with three atoms instead of two. It is produced naturally from the photo-
dissociation of oxygen gas molecules in the atmosphere. The ozone thus formed is constantly broken down by
naturally occurring processes that maintain its balance in the ozone layer. In the absence of pollutants the creation
and breakdown of ozone are purely governed by natural forces, but the presence of certain pollutants can
accelerate the breakdown of ozone. Although it was known earlier that ozone shows fluctuations in its
concentrations which may sometimes be accompanied with a little ozone depletion, it was only in 1985 that the
large scale destruction of the ozone also called the ‘Ozone Hole’ came into limelight when some British
researchers published measurements about the ozone layer. Soon after these findings a greater impetus was given
to research on the ozone layer, which convincingly established that CFCs (chloro-flurocarbons) were leading to its
depletion. These CFCs are extremely stable, non-flammable, non-toxic and harmless to handle. This makes them
ideal for many industrial applications like aerosols, air conditioners, refrigerators and fire extinguishers. Many cans,
which give out foams and sprays, use CFCs (Eg: perfumes, room fresheners, etc.) CFCs are also used in the making
of foams for mattresses and cushions, disposable styrofoam cups, glasses, packaging material for insulation, cold
storage etc. However, their stability also gives them a long life span in the atmosphere. Halons are similar in
structure to the CFCs but contain bromine atoms instead of chlorine. They are more dangerous to the ozone layer
than CFCs. Halons are used as fire extinguishing agents as they do not pose a harm to people and equipment
exposed to them during fire fighting. The CFCs and halons migrate into the upper atmosphere after they are
released. As they are heavier than air they have to be carried by air currents up to just above the lower
atmosphere and then they slowly diffuse into the upper atmosphere. This is a slow process and can take as long as
five to fifteen years. In the stratosphere unfiltered UV-radiation severs the chemical bonds releasing chlorine from
the rest of the CFC. This attacks the ozone molecule resulting in its splitting into an oxygen molecule and an oxygen
atom. Despite the fact that CFCs are evenly distributed over the globe, the ozone depletion is especially
pronounced over the South Pole due to the extreme weather conditions in the Antarctic atmosphere. The
presence of the ice crystals makes the Cl-O bonding easier. The ozone layer over countries like Australia, New
Zealand, South Africa and parts of South America is also depleted. India has signed the Montreal Protocol in 1992,
which aims to control the production and consumption of Ozone Depleting Substances.

Ozone depletion-What does it do?

Changes in the ozone layer have serious implications for mankind.

Effects on human health: Sunburn, cataract, aging of the skin and skin cancer are caused by the increased ultra-
violet radiation. It weakens the immune system by suppressing the resistance of the whole body to certain
infections like measles, chicken pox and other viral diseases that cause rash and parasitic diseases such as malaria
introduced through the skin.

Food production: Ultra violet radiation affects the ability of plants to capture light energy during the process of
photosynthesis. This reduces the nutrient content and the growth of plants. This is seen especially in legumes and
cabbage. Plant and animal planktons are damaged by ultraviolet radiation. In zooplanktons (microscopic animals)
the breeding period is shortened by changes in radiation. As planktons form the basis of the marine food chain a
change in their number and species composition influences fish and shell fish production.

Effect on materials: Increased UV radiation damages paints and fabrics, causing them to fade faster.

Effect on climate: Atmospheric changes induced by pollution contribute to global warming, a phenomenon which
is caused due to the increase in concentration of certain gases like carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, methane and
CFCs. Observations of the earth have shown beyond doubt that atmospheric constituents such as water vapour,
carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides and Chloro Fluro Carbons trap heat in the form of infra-red radiation
near the earth’s surface. This is known as the ‘Greenhouse Effect’. The phenomenon is similar to what happens in
a greenhouse. The glass in a greenhouse allows solar radiation to enter which is absorbed by the objects inside.
These objects radiate heat in the form of terrestrial radiation, which does not pass out through the glass. The heat
is therefore trapped in the greenhouse increasing the temperature inside and ensuring the luxuriant growth of
plants.
There could be several adverse effects of global warming:
• With a warmer earth the polar ice caps will melt causing a rise in ocean levels and flooding of coastal areas.
• In countries like Bangladesh or the Maldives this would be catastrophic. If the sea level rises by 3m, Maldives will
go under water.
• The rise in temperature will bring about a fall in agricultural produce.
• Changes in the distribution of solar energy can bring about changes in habitats. A previously productive
agricultural area will suffer severe droughts while rains will fall in locations that were once deserts. This could bring
about changes in the species of natural plants, agricultural crops, insects, livestock and micro-organisms.
• In the polar regions temperature rises caused by global warming would have disastrous effects. Vast quantities of
methane are trapped beneath the frozen soil of Alaska. When the permafrost melts the methane released can
accelerate the process of global warming.

Control measures for air pollution

Air pollution can be controlled by two fundamental approaches: preventive techniques and effluent control. One
of the effective means of controlling air pollution is to have proper equipment in place. This includes devices for
removal of pollutants from the flue gases though scrubbers, closed collection recovery systems through which it is
possible to collect the pollutants before they escape, use of dry and wet collectors, filters, electrostatic
precipitators, etc. Providing a greater height to the stacks can help in facilitating the discharge of pollutants as far
away from the ground as possible. Industries should be located in places so as to minimize the effects of pollution
after considering the topography and the wind directions. Substitution of raw material that causes more pollution
with those that cause less pollution can
be done.

4.2.2 Water Pollution

Introduction
Water is the essential element that makes life on earth possible. Without water there would be no life. We usually
take water for granted. It flows from our taps when they are turned on. Most of us are able to bathe when we
want to, swim when we choose and water our gardens. Like good health we ignore water when we have it.
Although 71% of the earth’s surface is covered by water only a tiny fraction of this water is available to us as fresh
water. About 97% of the total water available on earth is found in oceans and is too salty for drinking or irrigation.
The remaining 3% is fresh water. Of this 2.997% is locked in ice caps or glaciers. Thus, only 0.003% of the earth’
total volume of water is easily available to us as soil moisture, groundwater, water vapour and water in lakes,
streams, rivers and wetlands. In short if the world’s water supply were only 100 litres our usable supply of fresh
water would be only about 0.003 litres (one-half teaspoon). This makes water a very precious resource. The future
wars in our world may well be fought over water. By the middle of this century, almost twice as many people will
be trying to share the same amount of fresh water the earth has today. As freshwater becomes more scarce access
to water resources will be a major factor in determining the economic growth of several countries around the
world.

Water availability on the planet: Water that is found in streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands and artificial reservoirs is
called surface water. Water that percolates into the ground and fills the pores in soil and rock is called
groundwater. Porous water-saturated layers of sand, gravel or bedrock through which ground water flows are
called aquifers. Most aquifers are replenished naturally by rainfall that percolates downward through the soil and
rock. This process is called natural recharge. If the withdrawal rate of an aquifer exceeds its natural recharge rate,
the water table is lowered. Any pollutant that is discharged onto the land above is also pulled into the aquifer and
pollutes the groundwater resulting in polluted water in the nearby wells. India receives most of her rainfall during
the months of June to September due to the seasonal winds and the temperature differences between the land
and the sea. These winds blow from the opposite directions in the different seasons. They blow into India from the
surrounding oceans during the summer season and blow out from the subcontinent to the oceans during the
winter. The monsoon in India is usually reasonably stable but varies geographically. In some years the
commencement of the rains may be delayed considerably over the entire country or a part of it. The rains may also
terminate earlier than usual. They may be heavier than usual over one part than over another. All these may cause
local floods or drought. However, in India even areas that receive adequate rainfall during the monsoon suffer
from water shortages in the post monsoon period due to lack of storage facilities. When the quality or
composition of water changes directly or indirectly as a result of man’s activities such that it becomes unfit for
any purpose it is said to be polluted.

Point sources of pollution: When a source of pollution can be readily identified because it has a definite source
and place where it enters the water it is said to come from a point source. Eg. Municipal and Industrial Discharge
Pipes. When a source of pollution cannot be readily identified, such as agricultural runoff, acid rain, etc, they are
said to be non-point sources of pollution.

Causes of water pollution

There are several classes of common water pollutants. They may be due to disease-causing agents (pathogens)
which include bacteria, viruses, protozoa and parasitic worms that enter water from domestic sewage and
untreated human and animal wastes. Human wastes contain concentrated populations of coliform bacteria such as
Escherichia coli and Streptococcus faecalis. These bacteria normally grow in the large intestine of humans where
they are responsible for some food digestion and for the production of vitamin K. These bacteria are not harmful in
low numbers. Large amounts of human waste in water, increases the number of these bacteria which cause
gastrointestinal diseases. Other potentially harmful bacteria from human wastes may also be present in smaller
numbers. Thus, the greater the amount of wastes in the water the greater are the chances of contracting diseases
from them.
Another category of water pollutants is oxygen depleting wastes. These are organic wastes that can be
decomposed by aerobic (oxygen requiring) bacteria. Large populations of bacteria use up the oxygen present in
water to degrade these wastes. In the process this degrades water quality. The amount of oxygen required to
break down a certain amount of organic matter is called the biological oxygen demand (BOD). The amount of BOD
in the water is an indicator of the level of pollution. If too much organic matter is added to the water all the
available oxygen is used up. This causes fish and other forms of oxygen dependent aquatic life to die. Thus,
anaerobic bacteria (those that do not require oxygen) begin to break down the wastes. Their anaerobic respiration
produces chemicals that have a foul odour and an unpleasant taste that is harmful to human health.

A third class of pollutants are inorganic plant nutrients. These are water soluble nitrates and phosphates that
cause excessive growth of algae and other aquatic plants. The excessive growth of algae and aquatic plants due to
added nutrients is called eutrophication. They may interfere with the use of the water by clogging water intake
pipes, changing the taste and odour of water and cause a buildup of organic matter. As the organic matter decays,
oxygen levels decrease and fish and other aquatic species die. The quantity of fertilizers applied in a field is often
many times more than is actually required by the plants. The chemicals in fertilizers and pesticides pollute soil and
water. While excess fertilizers cause eutrophication, pesticides cause bioaccumulation and biomagnification.
Pesticides which enter water bodies are introduced into the aquatic food chain. They are then absorbed by the
phytoplanktons and aquatic plants. These plants are eaten by the herbivorous fish which are in turn eaten by the
carnivorous fish which are in turn eaten by the water birds. At each link in the food chain these chemicals which do
not pass out of the body are accumulated and increasingly concentrated resulting in biomagnification of these
harmful substances. One of the effects of accumulation of high levels of pesticides such as DDT is that birds lay
eggs with shells that are much thinner than normal. This results in the premature breaking of these eggs, killing the
chicks inside. Birds of prey such as hawks, eagles and other fish-eating birds are affected by such pollution.
Although DDT has been banned in India for agricultural use and is to be used only for malaria eradication, it is still
used in the fields as it is cheap.
A fourth class of water pollutants is water soluble inorganic chemicals which are acids, salts and
compounds of toxic metals such as mercury and lead. High levels of these chemicals can make the water unfit to
drink, harm fish and other aquatic life, reduce crop-yields and accelerate corrosion of equipment that use this
water. Another cause of water pollution is a variety of organic chemicals, which include oil, gasoline, plastics,
pesticides, cleaning solvents, detergent and many other chemicals. These are harmful to aquatic life and human
health. They get into the water directly from industrial activity either from improper handling of the chemicals in
industries and more often from improper and illegal disposal of chemical wastes.
 Sediment of suspended matter is another class of water pollutants. These are insoluble particles of soil
and other solids that become suspended in water. This occurs when soil is eroded from the land. High levels of soil
particles suspended in water, interferes with the penetration of sunlight. This reduces the photosynthetic activity
of aquatic plants and algae disrupting the ecological balance of the aquatic bodies. When the velocity of water in
streams and rivers decreases the suspended particles settle down at the bottom as sediments. Excessive
sediments that settle down destroys feeding and spawning grounds of fish, clogs and fills lakes, artificial reservoirs
etc.
Water soluble radioactive isotopes are yet another source of water pollution. These can be concentrated
in various tissues and organs as they pass through food chains and food webs. Ionizing radiation emitted by such
isotopes can cause birth defects, cancer and genetic damage. Hot water let out by power plants and industries
that use large volumes of water to cool the plant result in rise in temperature of the local water bodies. Thermal
pollution occurs when industry returns the heated water to a water source. Power plants heat water to convert it
into steam, to drive the turbines that generate electricity. For efficient functioning of the steam turbines, the
steam is condensed into water after it leaves the turbines. This condensation is done by taking water from a water
body to absorb the heat. This heated water, which is at least 15oC higher than the normal is discharged back into
the water body. The warm water not only decreases the solubility of oxygen but changes the breeding cycles of
various aquatic organisms.
Oil is washed into surface water in runoff from roads and parking lots which also pollutes groundwater.
Leakage from underground tanks is another source of pollution. Accidental oil spills from large transport tankers at
sea have been causing significant environmental damage. Though accidents such as the Exxon Valdez get
worldwide attention, much more oil is released as a result of small, regular
releases from other less visible sources. Nearly two thirds of all marine oil pollution comes from three sources:
runoff from streets, improper discharge of lubricating oil from machines or automobile crankcases and intentional
oil discharges that occur during the loading and unloading of tankers. Oil tankers often use sea water as ballast to
stabilize the ship after they have discharged their oil. This oil contaminated water is then discharged back into the
sea when the tanker is refilled.

CASE STUDY
One of the worst oil spill disasters that have occurred is that of the Exxon Valdez. On 24 th March 1989 the
Exxon Valdez, a tanker more than three football fields wide went off course in a 16 kilometer wide channel in
Prince William Sound near Valdez in Alaska. It hit submerged rocks, creating an environmental disaster. The
rapidly spreading oil slick coated more than 1600 kilometers of shoreline killing between 300,000 and
645,000 water birds and a large number of sea otters, harbor seals, whales and fishes. Exxon spent $ 2.2.
billion directly on the clean-up operations. However, some results of the cleanup effort showed that where
high pressure jets of hot water were used to clean beaches coastal plants and animals that had survived the
spill were killed. Thus, it did more harm than good. Exxon pleaded guilty in 1991 and agreed to pay the
Federal Government and the state of Alaska $ 1 billion in fines and civil damages. This $8.5 billion accident
might have been prevented if Exxon had spent only $22.5 million to fit the tanker with a double hull-one
inside the other. Such double hulled vessels would be less likely to rupture and spill their contents. The spill
highlighted the need for marine pollution prevention.

Groundwater pollution: While oil spills are highly visible and often get a lot of media attention, a much greater
threat to human life comes from our groundwater being polluted which is used for drinking and irrigation. While
groundwater is easy to deplete and pollute it gets renewed very slowly and hence must be used judiciously.
Groundwater flows are slow and not turbulent hence the contaminants are not effectively diluted and dispersed as
compared to surface water. Moreover, pumping groundwater and treating it is very slow and costly. Hence, it is
extremely essential to prevent the pollution of groundwater in the first place. Ground water is polluted due to:
• Urban run-off of untreated or poorly treated waste water and garbage
• Industrial waste storage located above or near aquifers
• Agricultural practices such as the application of large amounts of fertilizers and pesticides, animal
feeding operations, etc. in the rural sector
• Leakage from underground storage tanks containing gasoline and other hazardous substances
• Leachate from landfills
• Poorly designed and inadequately maintained septic tanks
• Mining wastes
Severe cases of arsenic poisoning from contaminated groundwater have been reported from West Bengal
in what is known today as the worst case of groundwater pollution. The School of Environmental Sciences,
Jadhavpur University, West Bengal has been involved in the task of surveying the magnitude of the arsenic
problem in West Bengal for the last fourteen years. According to a report in the Down to Earth (Vol. 11, No. 22),
arsenic poisoning was first noticed by K.C. Saha, former professor of dermatology at the School of Tropical
Medicine, Kolkata, when he began to receive patients with skin lesions that resembled the symptoms of leprosy
which was in reality not leprosy. Since all the patients were from the district of 24-Parganas, Saha along with
others began to look for the cause and found it to be arsenic toxicity. Thus, groundwater arsenic contamination in
West Bengal was first reported in a local daily newspaper in December 1983 when 63 people from three villages
located in different districts were identified by health officials as suffering from arsenic poisoning.
Arsenicosis or arsenic toxicity develops after two to five years of exposure to arsenic contaminated
drinking water depending on the amount of water consumption and the arsenic concentration in water. Initially
the skin begins to darken (called diffuse melanosis) which later leads to spotted melanosis when darkened sports
begin to appear on the chest, back and limbs. At a later stage leucomelanosis sets in and the body begins to show
black and white spots. In the middle stage of arsenicosis the skin in parts becomes hard and fibrous. Rough, dry
skin with nodules on hands or the soles of feet indicate severe toxicity. This can lead to the formation of gangrene
and cancer. Arsenic poisoning brings with it other complications such as liver and spleen enlargement, cirrhosis of
the liver, diabetes, goiter and skin cancers.

Control measures for preventing water pollution

While the foremost necessity is prevention, setting up effluent treatment plants and treating waste through these
can reduce the pollution load in the recipient water. The treated effluent can be reused for either gardening or
cooling purposes wherever possible. A few years ago a new technology called the Root Zone Process has been
developed by Thermax. This system involves running contaminated water through the root zones of specially
designed reed beds. The reeds, which are essentially wetland plants have the capacity to absorb oxygen from the
surrounding air through their stomatal openings. The oxygen is pushed through the porous stem of the reeds into
the hollow roots where it enters the root zone and creates conditions suitable for the growth of numerous bacteria
and fungi. These micro-organisms oxidize impurities in the wastewaters, so that the water which finally comes out
is clean.

4.2.3 Soil Pollution

Introduction: We can no more manufacture a soil with a tank of chemicals than we can invent a rain forest or
produce a single bird. We may enhance the soil by helping its processes along, but we can never recreate what we
destroy. The soil is a resource for which there is no substitute. Environmental historian Donald Worster reminds us
that fertilizers are not a substitute for fertile soil. Soil is a thin covering over the land consisting of a mixture of
minerals, organic material, living organisms, air and water that together support the growth of plant life. Several
factors contribute to the formation of soil from the parent material. This includes mechanical weathering of rocks
due to temperature changes and abrasion, wind, moving water, glaciers, chemical weathering activities and
lichens. Climate and time are also important in the development of soils. Extremely dry or cold climates develop
soils very slowly while humid and warm climates develop them more rapidly. Under ideal climatic conditions soft
parent material may develop into a centimeter of soil within 15 years. Under poor climatic conditions a hard
parent material may require hundreds of years to develop into soil. Mature soils are arranged in a series of zones
called soil horizons. Each horizon has a distinct texture and composition that varies with different
types of soils. A cross sectional view of the horizons in a soil is called a soil profile. The top layer or the surface
litter layer called the O horizon consists mostly of freshly fallen and partially decomposed leaves, twigs, animal
waste, fungi and other organic materials. Normally it is brown or black.
The uppermost layer of the soil called the A horizon consists of partially decomposed organic matter
(humus) and some inorganic mineral particles. It is usually darker and looser than the deeper layers. The roots of
most plants are found in these two upper layers. As long as these layers are anchored by vegetation soil stores
water and releases it in a trickle throughout the year instead of in a force like a flood. These two top layers also
contain a large amount of bacteria, fungi, earthworms and other small insects that form complex food webs in the
soil that help recycle soil nutrients and contribute to soil fertility. The B horizon often called the subsoil contains
less organic material and fewer organisms than the A horizon. The area below the subsoil is called the C horizon
and consists of weathered parent material. This parent material does not contain any organic materials. The
chemical composition of the C-horizon helps to determine the pH of the soil and also influences the soil’s rate of
water absorption and retention. Soils vary in their content of clay (very fine particles), silt (fine particles), sand
(medium size particles) and gravel (coarse to very coarse particles). The relative amounts of the different sizes and
types of mineral particles determine soil texture. Soils with approximately equal mixtures of clay, sand, silt and
humus are called loams.

Causes of soil degradation

Erosion
Soil erosion can be defined as the movement of surface litter and topsoil from one place to another. While erosion
is a natural process often caused by wind and flowing water it is greatly accelerated by human activities such as
farming, construction, overgrazing by livestock, burning of grass cover and deforestation. Loss of topsoil makes a
soil less fertile and reduces its water holding capacity. The topsoil,
which is washed away, also contributes to water pollution clogging lakes, increasing turbidity of the water and also
leads to loss of aquatic life. For one inch of topsoil to be formed it normally requires 200 to 1000 years depending
upon the climate and soil-type. Thus, if the topsoil erodes faster than it is formed, the soil becomes a non-
renewable resource. Hence, it is essential that proper soil conservation measures are used to minimize the loss of
top soil. There are several techniques that can protect soil from erosion. Today both water and soil are conserved
through integrated treatment methods. Some of the most commonly employed methods include the two types of
treatment that are generally used.

• Area treatment which involves treating the land

• Drainage line treatment which involves treating the natural water courses (nalas)

Continuous contour trenches can be used to enhance infiltration of water reduce the runoff and check soil erosion.
These are actually shallow trenches dug across the slope of the land and along the contour lines basically for the
purpose of soil and water conservation. They are most effective on gentle slopes and in areas of low to medium
rainfall. These bunds are stabilized by fast growing tree species and grasses. In areas of steep slopes where the
bunds are not possible, continuous contour benches (CCBs) made of stones are used for the same purpose.
Gradonies can also be used to convert wastelands into agricultural lands. In this narrow trenches with bunds on
the downstream side are built along contours in the upper reaches of the catchment to collect run-off and to
conserve moisture from the trees or tree crops. The area between the two bunds is use for cultivation of crops
after development of fertile soil cover. Some of the ways in which this can be achieved are:

Live check dams which are barriers created by planting grass, shrubs and trees across the gullies can be used for
this purpose.

A bund constructed out of stones across the stream can also be used for conserving soil and water.

An Earthen checkbund is constructed out of local soil across the stream to check soil erosion and flow of water.
A Gabion structure is a bund constructed of stone and wrapped in galvanized chainlink.

A Gabion structure with ferrocement impervious barrier has a one inch thick impervious wall of ferrocement at
the center of the structure which goes below the ground level up to the hard strata. This ferrocement partition
supported by the gabion portion is able to retain the water and withstand the force of the runoff water.

An Underground bandhara is an underground structure across a nalla bed to function as a barrier to check the
ground water movement.

Excess use of fertilizers: Approximately 25 percent of the world’s crop yield is estimated to be directly attributed
to the use of chemical fertilizers. The use of chemical fertilizes has increased significantly over the last few decades
and is expected to rise even higher. Fertilizers are very valuable as they replace the soil nutrients used up by
plants. The three primary soil nutrients often in short supply are potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen compounds.
These are commonly referred to as macronutrients. Certain other elements like boron, zinc and manganese are
necessary in extremely small amounts and are known as micronutrients. When crops are harvested a large amount
of macronutrients and a small amount of micronutrients are removed with the crops. If the same crop is grown
again depleted levels of thee nutrients can result in decreased yields. These necessary nutrients can be returned to
the soil through the
application of fertilizers. In addition to fertilizers a large amount of pesticides (chemicals used to kill or control
populations of unwanted fungi, animals or plants often called pests) are also used to ensure a good yield.
Pesticides can be subdivided into several categories based on the kinds of organisms they are used to control.
Insecticides are used to control insect populations while fungicides are used to control unwanted fungal growth.
Mice and rats are killed by rodenticides while plant pests are controlled by herbicides.

Problems with pesticide use

Pesticides not only kill the pests but also a large variety of living things including humans. They may be persistent
or non-persistent. Persistent pesticides once applied are effective for a long time. However, as they do not break
down easily they tend to accumulate in the soil and in the bodies of animals in the food chain. For example, DDT
which was one of the first synthetic organic insecticide to be used was thought to be the perfect insecticide. During
the first ten years of its use (1942-1952) DDT is estimated to have saved about five million lives primarily because
of its use to control disease carrying mosquitoes. However, after a period of use many mosquitoes and insects
became tolerant of DDT, thus making it lose its effectiveness. DDT in temperate regions of the world has a half life
(the amount of time required for
half of the chemical to decompose) of 10 to 15 years. This means that if 100 kilograms of DDT were to be sprayed
over an area, 50 kilograms would still be present in the area 10 to 15 years later. The half-life of DDT varies
according to the soil type, temperature, kind of soil organisms present and other factors. In tropical parts of the
world the half life may be as short as six months. The use of DDT has been banned in
most countries. India still however, permits the use of DDT though for the purpose of mosquito control only.
Persistent pesticides become attached to small soil particles which are easily moved by wind and water to different
parts thus affecting soils elsewhere. Persistent pesticides may also accumulate in the bodies of animals, and over a
period of time increase in concentration if the animal is unable to flush them out of its system thus leading to the
phenomenon called bioaccumulation. When an affected animal is eaten by another carnivore these pesticides are
further concentrated in the body of the carnivore. This phenomenon of acquiring increasing levels of a substance
in the bodies of higher trophic level organisms is known as biomagnification. This process especially in the case of
insecticides like DDT have been proved to be disastrous. DDT is a well known case of biomagnification in
ecosystems. DDT interferes
with the production of normal eggshells in birds making them fragile. Other problems associated with insecticides
is the ability of insect populations to become resistant to them thus rendering them useless in a couple of
generations. Most pesticides kill beneficial as well as pest species. They kill the predator as well as the parasitic
insects that control the pests. Thus, the pest species increase rapidly following the use of a pesticide as there are
no natural checks to their population growth. The short term and the long-term health effects to the persons using
the pesticide and the public that consumes the food grown by using the pesticides are also major concerns.
Exposure to small quantities of pesticides over several years can cause mutations, produce cancers, etc. Thus, the
question that comes to mind is that if pesticides have so many drawbacks then why are they used so extensively
and what are the substitutes for them? There are three main reasons for the use of pesticides. Firstly, the use of
pesticides in the short term has increased the amount of food that can be grown in many parts of the world as the
damage by pests is decreased. The second reason for its extensive use is base on an economic consideration. The
increased yields more than compensates the farmer for cost of pesticides. Thirdly, current health problems
especially in developing countries due to mosquitoes are impossible to control without insecticides. However,
more and more farmers are increasingly opting to replace chemical fertilizers and
use different methods of controlling pests without affecting their yield. Thus, several different approaches that
have slightly varying and overlapping goals have been developed. Alternative agriculture is the broadest term that
is used that includes all non-traditional agricultural methods and encompasses sustainable agriculture, organic
agriculture, alternative uses of traditional crops, alternative methods for raising crops, etc. Sustainable agriculture
advocates the use of methods to produce adequate safe food in an economically viable manner while maintaining
the state of the ecosystem. Organic agriculture advocates avoiding the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. A
wide variety of techniques can be used to reduce this negative impact of agriculture. Leaving crop residue on the
soil and incorporating it into the soil reduces erosion and increase soil organic matter. Introduction of organic
matter into the soil also makes compaction less likely. Crop rotation is an effective way to enhance soil fertility,
reduce erosion and control pests. There have been arguments both for and against organic farming. Critics argue
that organic farming cannot produce the amount of food required for today’s population and it is economically
viable only in certain conditions. However, supporters for organic farming feel that of the hidden costs of soil
erosion and pollution are taken into account it is a viable approach. Besides organic farmers do not have to spend
on fertilizers and pesticides and also get a premium price for their products thus making it financially viable for
them. Another way to reduce these impacts is through the use of integrated pest management. This is a technique
that uses a complete understanding of all ecological aspects of a crop and the particular pests to which it is
susceptible to establish pest control strategies that uses no or few pesticides. Integrated pest management (IPM)
promotes the use of biopesticides. Biopesticides are derived from three sources: microbial, botanical and
biochemical. Microbial pesticides are micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungus, virus or protozoa that fight pests
through a variety of ways. They produce toxins specific to the pests and produce diseases in them. Biochemical
pesticides contain
several chemicals that affect the reproductive and digestive mechanisms of the pests. The most commonly used
biopesticides are Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), neem (Azadirachta indica) and Trichogramma spp. (a genus of wasp).
Although they are available in the market they are yet to become market favourites.

Excess salts and water

Irrigated lands can produce crop yields much higher than those that only use rainwater. However, this has its own
set of ill effects. Irrigation water contains dissolved salts and in dry climates much of the water in the saline
solution evaporates leaving its salts such as sodium chloride in the topsoil. The accumulation of these salts is called
salinization, which can stunt plant growth, lower yields and eventually kill the crop and render the land useless for
agriculture. These salts can be flushed out of the soil by using more water. This practice however increases the cost
of crop production and also wastes enormous amounts of water. Flushing salts can also make the downstream
irrigation water saltier. Another problem with irrigation is water logging. This occurs when large amounts of water
is used to leach the salts deeper into the soil. However, if the drainage is poor this water accumulates underground
gradually raising the water table. The roots of the plants then get enveloped in this saline water and eventually die.
Thus, in the long run it is better for us to adopt sustainable farming practices so as to prevent the degradation of
soil.

4.2.4 Marine Pollution

Marine pollution can be defined as the introduction of substances to the marine environment directly or indirectly
by man resulting in adverse effects such as hazards to human health, obstruction of marine activities and lowering
the quality of sea water. While the causes of marine pollution may be similar to that of general water pollution
there are some very specific causes that pollute marine waters.

• The most obvious inputs of waste is through pipes directly discharging wastes into the sea. Very often municipal
waste and sewage from residences and hotels in coastal towns are directly discharged into the sea.
• Pesticides and fertilizers from agriculture which are washed off the land by rain, enter water courses and
eventually reach the sea.
• Petroleum and oils washed off from the roads normally enter the sewage system but stormwater overflows carry
these materials into rivers and eventually into the seas.
• Ships carry many toxic substances such as oil, liquefied natural gas, pesticides, industrial chemicals, etc. in huge
quantities sometimes to the capacity of 350,000 tonnes. Ship accidents and accidental spillages at sea therefore
can be very damaging to the marine environment. Shipping channels in estuaries and at the entrances to ports
often require frequent dredging to keep them open. This dredged material that may contain heavy metals and
other contaminants are often dumped out to sea.
• Offshore oil exploration and extraction also pollute the seawater to a large extent.

Pollution due to organic wastes

The amount of oxygen dissolved in the water is vital for the plants and animals living in it. Wastes, which directly or
indirectly affect the oxygen concentration, play an important role in determining the quality of the water.
Normally, the greatest volume of waste discharged to watercourses, estuaries and the sea is sewage, which is
primarily organic in nature and is degraded by bacterial activity. Using the oxygen present in the water these
wastes are broken down into stable inorganic compounds. However, as a

result of this bacterial activity the oxygen concentration in the water is reduced. When the oxygen concentration
falls below 1.5 mg/l, the rate of aerobic oxidation is reduced and their place is taken over by the anaerobic bacteria
that can oxidize the organic molecules without the use of oxygen. This results in end products such as hydrogen
sulphide, ammonia and methane, which are toxic to many organisms.
This process results in the formation of an anoxic zone which is low in its oxygen content from which most life
disappears except for anaerobic bacteria, fungi, yeasts and some protozoa. This makes the water foul smelling.

Control measures: One way of reducing the pollution load on marine waters is through the introduction of sewage
treatment plants. This will reduce the biological oxygen demand (BOD) of the final product before it is discharged
to the receiving waters. Various stages of treatment such as primary, secondary or advanced can be used
depending on the quality of the effluent that is required to be treated.

Primary treatment: These treatment plants use physical processes such as screening and sedimentation to remove
pollutants that will settle, float or, that are too large to pass through simple screening devices. This includes,
stones, sticks, rags, and all such material that can clog pipes. A screen consists of parallel bars spaced 2 to 7cms
apart followed by a wire mesh with smaller openings. One way of avoiding the problem of disposal of materials
collected on the screens is to use a device called a comminuter which grinds the coarse material into small pieces
that can then be left in the waste water. After screening the wastewater passes into a grit chamber. The detention
time is chosen to be long enough to allow lighter, organic material to settle. From the grit chamber the sewage
passes into a primary settling tank (also called as sedimentation tank) where the flow speed is reduced sufficiently
to allow most of the suspended solids to settle out by gravity. If the waste is to undergo only primary treatment it
is then chlorinated to destroy bacteria and control odours after which the effluent is released. Primary treatment
normally removes about 35 percent of the BOD and 60 percent of the suspended solids.
Secondary treatment: The main objective of secondary treatment is to remove most of the BOD. There are three
commonly used approaches: trickling filters, activated sludge process and oxidation ponds. Secondary treatment
can remove at least 85 percent of the BOD. A trickling filter consists of a rotating distribution arm that sprays liquid
wastewater over a circular bed of ‘fist size’ rocks or other coarse materials. The spaces between the rocks allow air
to circulate easily so that aerobic conditions can be maintained. The individual rocks in the bed are covered with a
layer of slime, which consists of bacteria, fungi, algae, etc. which degrade the waste trickling through the bed. This
slime periodically slides off individual rocks and is collected at the bottom of the filter along with the treated
wastewater and is then passed on to the secondary settling tank where it is removed. In the activated sludge
process the sewage is pumped into a large tank and mixed for several hours with bacteria rich sludge and air
bubbles to facilitate degradation by micro-organisms. The water then goes into a sedimentation tank where most
of the microorganisms settle out as sludge. This sludge is then broken down in an anaerobic digester where
methane-forming bacteria slowly convert the organic matter into carbon dioxide, methane and other stable end
products. The gas produced in the digester is 60 percent methane, which is a valuable fuel
and can be put to many uses within the treatment plant itself. The digested sludge, which is still liquid, is normally
pumped out onto sludge drying beds where evaporation and seepage remove the water. This dried sludge is
potentially a good source of manure. Activated sludge tanks use less land area than trickling filters with equivalent
performance. They are also less expensive to construct than trickling filters and have fewer problems with flies and
odour and can also achieve higher rates of BOD removal. Thus, although the operating costs are a little higher due
to the expenses incurred on energy for running pumps and blowers they are preferred over trickling filters.
Oxidation ponds are large shallow ponds approximately 1 to 2 metres deep where raw or partially treated sewage
is decomposed by microorganisms. They are easy to build and manage and accommodate large fluctuations in flow
and can provide treatment at a much lower cost. They however require a large amount of land and hence can be
used where land is not a limitation.

Advanced sewage treatment: This involves a series of chemical and physical process that removes
specific pollutants left in the water after primary and secondary treatment. Sewage treatment plant effluents
contain nitrates and phosphates in large amounts. These contribute to eutrophication. Thus advanced treatment
plants are designed to specifically remove these contaminants. Advanced treatment plants are very expensive to
build and operate and hence are rarely used.

Pollution due to oil: Oil pollution of the sea normally attracts the greatest attention because of its visibility. There
are several sources though which the oil can reach the sea. Tanker operations Half the world production of crude
oil which is close to three billion tonnes a year is transported by sea. After a tanker has unloaded its cargo of oil it
has to take on seawater as ballast for the return journey. This ballast water is stored in the cargo compartments
that previously contained the oil. During the unloading of the cargo a certain amount of oil remains clinging to the
walls of the container and this may amount to 800 tonnes in a 200,000 tonne tanker. The ballast water thus
becomes contaminated with this oil. When a fresh cargo of oil is to be loaded, these compartments are cleaned
with water, which discharges the dirty ballast along with the oil into the sea.
 Two techniques have substantially reduced this oil pollution. In the load-on-top system, the
compartments are cleaned by high pressure jets of water. The oily water is retained in the compartment until the
oil floats to the top. The water underneath that contains only a little oil is then discharged into the sea and the oil
is transferred to a slop tank. At the loading terminal, fresh oil is loaded on top of the oil in the tank and hence the
name of the technique.
In the second method called ‘crude oil washing’, the clingage is removed by jets of crude oil while the
cargo is being unloaded. Some modern tankers have segregated ballast where the ballast water does not come in
contact with the oil. Thus, with the introduction of these new methods of deballasting, the amount of oil entering
the sea has been considerably reduced.

Ballasting and deballasting in ships

Ballasting/deballasting
Ballasting or de-ballasting is a process by which sea water is taken in and out of the ship when the ship is at the
port or at the sea. This is done to maintain proper stability of the vessel.

Dry docking
All ships need periodic dry docking for servicing, repairs, cleaning the hull, etc. During this period when the cargo
compartments are to be completely emptied, residual oil finds its way into the sea.

Bilge and fuel oils

As ballast tanks take up valuable space, additional ballast is sometimes carried in empty fuel tanks. While being
pumped overboard it carries oil into the sea. Individually the quantity of oil released may be small but it becomes a
considerable amount when all the shipping operations are taken into consideration.

Tanker accidents
A large number of oil tanker accidents happen every year. Sometimes this can result in major disasters such as that
of the Exxon Valdez described in the section on water pollution.

Offshore oil production

Oil that is extracted from the seabed contains some water. Even after it is passed through oil separators the water
that is discharged contains some oil, which adds to marine pollution. Drilling mud which are pumped down oil
wells when it is being drilled normally contain 70 to 80 percent of oil. They are dumped on the seabed beneath the
platform thus heavily contaminating the water. Uncontrolled release of oil from the wells can be catastrophic
events resulting in oil pollution.

Control measures for oil pollution: Cleaning oil from surface waters and contaminated beaches is a time
consuming labour intensive process. The natural process of emulsification of oil in the water can be accelerated
through the use of chemical dispersants which can be sprayed on the oil. A variety of slick-lickers in which a
continuous belt of absorbent material dips through the oil slick and is passed through
rollers to extract the oil have been designed. Rocks, harbour walls can be cleaned with high-pressure steam or
dispersants after which the surface must be hosed down.

Effects of marine pollution: Apart from causing eutrophication a large amount of organic wastes can also result in
the development of red tides. These are phytoplankton blooms of such intensity that the area is discolored. Many
important commercially important marine species are also killed due to clogging of gills or other structures. When
liquid oil is spilled on the sea it spreads over the surface of the water to form a thin film called an oil slick. The rate
of spreading and the thickness of the film depends on the sea temperature and the nature of the oil.
Oil slicks damage marine life to a large extent. Salt marshes, mangrove swamps are likely to trap oil and
the plants, which form the basis for these ecosystems thus suffer. For salt marsh plants, oil slicks can affect the
flowering, fruiting and germination. If liquid oil contaminates a bird’s plumage its water repellent properties are
lost. Water thus penetrates the plumage and displaces the air trapped between the feathers and the skin. This air
layer is necessary as it provides buoyancy and thermal insulation. With this loss the plumage becomes water
logged and the birds may sink and drown. Even if this does not happen loss of thermal insulation results in
exhaustion of food reserves in an attempt to maintain body temperature often followed by death. Birds often
clean their plumage by preening and in the process consume oil which depending on its toxicity can lead to
intestinal, renal or liver failure. Drill cuttings dumped on the seabed create anoxic conditions and result in the
production of toxic sulphides in the bottom sediment thus eliminating the benthic fauna.
Fish and shellfish production facilities can also be affected by oil slicks. The most important commercial
damage can however also come from tainting which imparts an unpleasant flavour to fish and seafood and is
detectable at extremely low levels of contamination. This reduces the market value of seafood.

4.2.5 Noise Pollution

Noise may not seem as harmful as the contamination of air or water but it is a pollution problem that affects
human health and can contribute to a general deterioration of environmental quality. Noise is undesirable and
unwanted sound. Not all sound is noise. What may be considered as music to one person may be noise to another.
It is not a substance that can accumulate in the environment like most other pollutants. Sound is measured in a
unit called the ‘Decibel’ (dB).

Decibel levels of common sounds

dB Environmental Condition
0 Threshold of hearing
10 Rustle of leaves
20 Broadcasting studio
30 Bedroom at night
40 Library
50 Quiet office
60 Conversational speech (at 1m)
70 Average radio
74 Light traffic noise
90 Subway train
100 Symphony orchestra
110 Rock band
120 Aircraft takeoff
146 Threshold of pain

There are several sources of noise pollution that contribute to both indoor and outdoor noise pollution. Noise
emanating from factories, vehicles, playing of loudspeakers during various festivals can contribute to outdoor
noise pollution while loudly played radio or music systems, and other electronic gadgets can contribute to indoor
noise pollution. A study conducted by researchers from the New Delhi based National
Physical Laboratory show that noise generated by firecrackers (presently available in the market) is much higher
than the prescribed levels. The permitted noise level is 125 decibels, as per the Environment (Protection) (second
amendment) Rules, 1999. The differences between sound and noise is often subjective and a matter of personal
opinion. There are however some very harmful effects caused by exposure to high sound levels. These effects can
range in severity from being extremely annoying to being extremely painful and hazardous.

Effects of noise pollution on physical health

The most direct harmful effect of excessive noise is physical damage to the ear and the temporary or permanent
hearing loss often called a temporary threshold shift (TTS). People suffering from this condition are unable to
detect weak sounds. However, hearing ability is usually recovered within a month. In Maharashtra people living in
close vicinity of Ganesh mandals that play blaring music for ten days of the Ganesh festival are usually known to
suffer from this phenomenon. Permanent loss, usually called noise induced permanent threshold shift (NIPTS)
represents a loss of hearing ability from which there is no recovery. Below a sound level of 80 dBA haring loss does
not occur at all. However, temporary effects are noticed at sound levels between 80 and 130 dBA. About 50
percent of the people exposed to 95 dBA sound levels at work will develop NIPTS and most people exposed to
more than 105 dBA will experience permanent hearing loss to some degree. A sound level of 150 dBA or more can
physically rupture the human eardrum. The degree of hearing loss depends on the duration as well as the intensity
of the noise. For example, 1hour of exposure to a 100 dBA sound level can produce a TTS that may last for about
one day. However, in factories with noisy machinery, workers are subjected to high sound levels for several hours
a day. Exposure to 95 dBA for 8 hours everyday for over a period of 10 years may cause about 15 dBA of NIPTS. In
addition to hearing losses excessive sound levels can cause harmful effects on the circulatory system by raising
blood pressure and altering pulse rates.

Effects of noise pollution on mental health:

Noise can also cause emotional or psychological effects such as irritability, anxiety and stress. Lack of
concentration and mental fatigue are significant health effects of noise. It has been observed that the performance
of school children is poor in comprehension tasks when schools are situated in busy areas of a city and suffer from
noise pollution. As noise interferes with normal auditory communication, it may mask auditory warning signals and
hence increases the rate of accidents especially in industries. It can also lead to lowered worker efficiency and
productivity and higher accident rates on the job. Thus, noise is just more than a mere nuisance or annoyance. It
definitely affects the quality of life. It is thus important to ensure mitigation or control of noise pollution.

Permitted noise levels

Ambient Noise Levels dB

Zone Day-time Night-time

Silent Zone 50 40
Residential Zone 55 45
Commercial Zone 65 55
Industrial Zone 70 70
A standard ‘safe’ time limit has been set for exposure to various noise levels. Beyond this ‘safe’ time continuing
exposure over a period of a year will lead to hearing loss.

Duration dBA
8 hours 90
4 hours 93
2 hours 96
1 hour 99
30 minutes 102
15 minutes 105
7 minutes 108
4 minutes 111
2 minutes 114
1 minute 117
30 seconds 120
Instantaneous rupture of membrane 150

Noise Control techniques

There are four fundamental ways in which noise can be controlled: Reduce noise at the source, block the path of
noise, increase the path length and protect the recipient. In general, the best control method is to reduce noise
levels at the source. Source reduction can be done by effectively muffling vehicles and machinery to reduce the
noise. In industries noise reduction can be done by using rigid sealed enclosures around machinery lined with
acoustic absorbing material. Isolating machines and their enclosures from the floor using special spring mounts or
absorbent mounts and pads and using flexible couplings for interior pipelines also contribute to reducing noise
pollution at the source. However, one of the best methods of noise source reduction is regular and thorough
maintenance of operating machinery. Noise levels at construction sites can be controlled using proper construction
planning and scheduling techniques. Locating noisy air compressors and other equipment away from the site
boundary along with creation of temporary barriers to physically block the noise can help contribute to reducing
noise pollution. Most of the vehicular noise comes from movement of the vehicle tires on the pavement and wind
resistance. However, poorly maintained vehicles can add to the noise levels. Traffic volume and speed also have
significant effects on the overall sound. For example, doubling the speed increases the sound levels by about 9 dBA
and doubling the traffic volume (number of vehicles per hour) increases sound levels by about 3 dBA. A smooth
flow of traffic also causes less noise than does a stop-and-go traffic pattern. Proper highway planning and design
are essential for controlling traffic noise. Establishing lower speed limits for highways that pass through residential
areas, limiting traffic volume and providing alternative routes for truck traffic are effective noise control measures.
The path of traffic noise can also be blocked by construction of vertical barriers alongside the highway. Planting of
trees around houses can also act as effective noise barriers. In industries different types of absorptive material can
be used
to control interior noise. Highly absorptive interior finish material for walls, ceilings and floors can decrease indoor
noise levels significantly. Sound levels drop significantly with increasing distance from the noise source. Increasing
the path length between the source and the recipient offers a passive means of control. Municipal land-use
ordinances pertaining to the location of airports make use of the attenuating
effect of distance on sound levels. Use of earplugs and earmuffs can protect individuals effectively from excessive
noise levels. Specially designed earmuffs can reduce the sound level reaching the eardrum by as much as 40 dBA.
However, very often workers tend not to wear them on a regular basis despite company requirements for their
use.

4.2.6 Thermal Pollution

Sources: The discharge of warm water into a natural water source is usually called a thermal pollution. It occurs
when an industry removes water from a source, uses the water for cooling purposes and then returns the heated
water to its source. Power plants heat water to convert it into steam, to drive the turbines that generate
electricity. For efficient functioning of the steam turbines, the steam is condensed into water after it leaves the
turbines. This condensation is done by taking water from a water body to absorb the heat. This heated water,
which is at least 15oC higher than the normal is discharged back into the water body.

Effects: The warmer temperature decreases the solubility of oxygen and increases the metabolism of fish. This
changes the ecological balance of the river. Within certain limits thermal additions can promote the growth of
certain fish and the fish catch may be high in the vicinity of a power plant. However, sudden changes in
temperature caused by periodic plant shutdowns both planned and unintentional can change result in death of
these fish that are acclimatized to living in warmer waters. Tropical marine animals are generally unable to
withstand a temperature increase of 2 to 3 C and most sponges, mollusks and crustaceans are eliminated at
0

temperatures above 37 C. This results in a change in the diversity of fauna as only those species that can live in
0

warmer water survive.

Control measures: Thermal pollution can be controlled by passing the heated water through a cooling pond or a
cooling tower after it leaves the condenser. The heat is dissipated into the air and the water can

then be discharged into the river or pumped back to the plant for reuse as cooling water. There are several ways in
which thermal pollution can be reduced. One method is to construct a large shallow pond. Hot water is pumped
into one end of the pond and cooler water is removed from the other end. The heat
gets dissipated from the pond into the atmosphere.
A second method is to use a cooling tower. These structures take up less land area than the ponds. Here
most of the heat transfer occurs through evaporation. Here warm waters coming from the condenser is sprayed
downward over vertical sheets or baffles where the water flows in thin films. Cool air enters the tower through the
water inlet that encircles the base of the tower and rises upwards causing
evaporative cooling. A natural draft is maintained because of the density difference between the cool air outside
and the warmer air inside the tower. The waste heat is dissipated into the atmosphere about 100 m above the
base of the tower. The cooled water is collected at the floor of the tower and recycled back to the power plant
condensers. The disadvantage in both these methods is however that large amounts of water are lost by
evaporation.

4.2.7 Nuclear Hazards

Nuclear energy can be both beneficial and harmful depending on the way in which it is used. We routinely use X-
rays to examine bones for fractures, treat cancer with radiation and diagnose diseases with the help of radioactive
isotopes. Approximately 17% of the electrical energy generated in the world comes from nuclear power plants.
However, on the other hand it is impossible to forget the destruction that nuclear bombs caused the cities of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The radioactive wastes from nuclear energy have caused serious environmental damage.
Nuclear fission is the splitting of the nucleus of the atom. The resulting energy can be used for
a variety of purposes. The first controlled fission of an atom was carried out in Germany in 1938. However, the
United States was the first country to develop an atomic bomb which was subsequently
dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The world’s first electricity generating reactor was
constructed in the United States in 1951 and the Soviet Union built its first reactor in 1954. In December 1953,
President Dwight D. Eisenhower in his ‘Atoms for Peace’ speech made the following prediction:
‘Nuclear reactors will produce electricity so cheaply that it will not be necessary to meter it. The users will pay a
fee and use as much electricity as they want. Atoms will provide a safe, clean and dependable source of electricity.’
Today however, though nuclear power is being used as a reliable source of electricity the above statement sounds
highly optimistic. Several serious accidents have caused worldwide concern about safety and disposal of
radioactive wastes. In order to appreciate the consequences of using nuclear fuels to generate energy it is
important to understand how the fuel is processed. Low-grade uranium ore, which contains 0.2 percent uranium
by weight, is obtained by surface
or underground mining. After it is mined the ore goes through a milling process where it is crushed and treated
with a solvent to concentrate the uranium and produces yellow cake a material containing 70 to 90 percent
uranium oxide. Naturally occurring uranium contains only 0.7 percent of fissionable U-235, which is not high
enough for most types of reactors. Hence, it is necessary to increase the amount of U-235 by enrichment though it
is a difficult and expensive process. The enrichment process increases the U-235 content from 0.7 to 3 percent.
Fuel fabrication then converts the enriched material into a powder, which is then compacted into pellets. These
pellets are sealed in metal fuel rods about 4 meters in length which is then loaded into the reactor. As fission
occurs the concentration of U-235 atoms decreases. After
about three years, a fuel rod does not have enough radioactive material to sustain a chain reaction and hence the
spent fuel rods must be replaced by new ones. The spent rods are however, still very radioactive contain about
one percent U-235 and one percent plutonium. These rods are a major source of radioactive waste material
produced by a nuclear reactor. Initially it was thought that spent fuel rods could be reprocessed to not only
provide new fuel but also to reduce the amount of nuclear waste. However, the cost of producing fuel rods by
reprocessing is found to be greater than the cost of producing fuel rods from ore. Presently, India does operate
reprocessing plants to reprocess spent fuel as an alternative to storing them as nuclear waste. At each step in the
cycle there is a danger of exposure and poses several health and environmental concerns. Although nuclear power
has significant benefits an incident which changed people’s attitudes towards nuclear power plants was the
Chernobyl disaster that occurred in 1986.
Chernobyl is a small city in Ukraine near the border with Belarus north of Kiev. At 1.00 am April 25, 1986 a
test to measure the amount of electricity that the still spinning turbine would produce if steam were shut off was
being conducted at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station-4. This was an important information since the
emergency core cooling system required energy for its operation and the coasting turbine could provide some of
that energy until another source became available. The amount of steam being produced was reduced by lowering
the control rods into the reactor. But the test was delayed because of a demand for electricity and a new shift of
workers came on duty. The operators failed to program the computer to maintain power at 700 megawatts and
the output dropped to 30 megawatts. This presented an immediate need to rapidly increase the power and many
of the control rods were withdrawn. Meanwhile an inert gas (xenon) had accumulated on the fuel rods. The gas
absorbed the neutrons and slowed the rate of power increase. In an attempt to obtain more power the operators
withdrew all the control rods. This was a second serious safety violation. At 1.00am, the operators shut off most of
the emergency warning signals and turned on all the eight pumps to provide adequate cooling
for the reactor following the completion of the test. Just as the final stages for the test were beginning a signal
indicated excessive reaction in the reactor. In spite of the warning, the operators blocked the automatic reactor
shutdown and began the test. As the test continued the power output of the reactor rose beyond its normal level
and continued to rise. The operators activated the emergency system designed to put the control rods back into
the reactor and stop the fission. But it was already too late. The core had already been deformed and the rods
would not fit properly thus the reaction could not be stopped. In 4.5 seconds the energy level of the reactor
increased two thousand times. The fuel rods ruptured the cooling water which turned into steam and a steam
explosion occurred. The lack of cooling water allowed the reactor to explode. The explosion blew the 1000 metric
ton concrete roof from the reactor and the reactor caught fire. This resulted in the world’s worst nuclear accident
and it took ten days to bring the runaway reaction under control. There were of course immediate fatalities, but
the long-term consequences were devastating. 116,000 people were evacuated of which 24,000 had received high
doses of radiation. Even today many people suffer from illnesses they feel are related to their exposure to the
fallout from Chernobyl. In 1996 ten years after the accident it was clear that one of the long-term effects was the
increased frequency of thyroid cancer in children. The degree and the kind of damage from nuclear accidents vary
with the kind of radiation, the amount of radiation, the duration of exposure and the types of cells irradiated.
Radiation can also cause mutations which are changes in the genetic makeup of the cells. Mutations can occur in
the ovaries or the testes leading to the formation of mutated eggs or sperms which in turn can lead to abnormal
offspring. Mutations can also occur in the tissues of the body ad may manifest themselves as abnormal tissue
growths known as cancer. Two common cancers that are linked to increased radiation exposure are leukemia and
breast cancer.

4.3 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT: CAUSES, EFFECTS AND CONTROL MEASURES OF URBAN AND INDUSTRIAL
WASTE
In ancient cities, food scraps and other wastes were simply thrown into the unpaved streets where they
accumulated. Around 320 B.C. in Athens, the first known law forbidding this practice was established and a system
of waste removal began to evolve in several eastern Mediterranean cities. Disposal methods were very crude and
often were just open pits outside the city walls. As populations increased, efforts were made to transport the
wastes out further thus creating city dumps. Until recently, the disposal of municipal solid waste did not attract
much public attention. The favoured means of disposal was to dump solid wastes outside the city or village limits.
Around most towns and cities in India the approach roads are littered with multi-coloured plastic bags and other
garbage. Waste is also burnt to reduce its volume. Modern methods of disposal such as incineration (by burning)
and the development of sanitary landfills, etc. are now attempting to solve these problems. Lack of space for
dumping solid waste has become a serious problem in several cities and towns all over the world. Dumping and
burning wastes is not an acceptable practice today from either an environmental or a health perspective. Today,
disposal of solid waste should be part of an integrated waste management plan. The method of collection,
processing, resource recovery and the final disposal should mesh with one another to achieve a common
objective.

Characteristics of municipal solid waste

Solid wastes are grouped or classified in several different ways. These different classifications are necessary to
address the complex challenges of solid waste management in an effective manner. The term municipal solid
waste (MSW) is generally used to describe most of the non-hazardous solid waste from a city, town or village that
requires routine collection and transport to a processing or disposal site. Sources of MSW include private homes,
commercial establishments and institutions as well as industrial facilities. However, MSW does not include wastes
from industrial processes, construction and demolition debris, sewage sludge, mining wastes or agricultural
wastes. Municipal solid waste contains a wide variety of materials. It can contain food waste such as vegetable and
meat material, leftover food, egg
shells, etc which is classified as wet garbage as well as paper, plastic, tetrapacks, plastic cans, newspaper, glass
bottles, cardboard boxes, aluminium foil, metal items, wood pieces, etc. which is classified as dry garbage.

Control measures of urban and industrial wastes

An integrated waste management strategy includes three main components:
1. Source reduction
2. Recycling
3. Disposal

Source reduction is one of the fundamental ways to reduce waste. This can be done by using less material when
making a product, reuse of products on site, designing products or packaging to reduce their quantity. On an
individual level we can reduce the use of unnecessary items while shopping, buy items with minimal packaging,
avoid buying disposable items and also avoid asking for plastic carry bags.
Recycling is reusing some components of the waste that may have some economic value. Recycling has readily
visible benefits such as conservation of resources reduction in energy used during manufacture and reducing
pollution levels. Some materials such as aluminum and steel can be recycled many times. Metal, paper, glass and
plastics are recyclable. Mining of new aluminium is expensive and hence recycled aluminium has a strong market
and plays a significant role in the aluminum industry. Paper recycling can also help preserve forests as it takes
about 17 trees to make one ton of paper. Crushed
glass (cullet) reduces the energy required to manufacture new glass by 50 percent. Cullet (broken or waste glass
suitable for remelting) lowers the temperature requirement of the glassmaking process thus conserving energy
and reducing air pollution. However, even if recycling is a viable alternative, it presents several problems. The
problems associated with recycling are either technical or economical. Plastics are difficult to recycle because of
the different types of polymer resins used in their production. Since each type has its own chemical makeup
different plastics cannot be recycled together. Thus, separation of different plastics before recycling is necessary.
Similarly, in recycled paper the fibers are weakened and it is difficult to control the colour of the recycled product.
Recycled paper is banned for use in food containers to prevent the possibility of contamination. It very often costs
less to transport raw paper pulp than scrap paper. Collection, sorting and transport account for about 90 percent
of the cost of paper recycling. The processes of pulping, deinking and screening wastepaper are generally more
expensive than making paper from virgin wood or cellulose fibers. Very often thus recycled paper is more
expensive than virgin paper. However, as technology improves the cost will come down.

Disposal of solid waste is done most commonly through a sanitary landfill or through incineration. A modern
sanitary landfill is a depression in an impermeable soil layer that is lined with an impermeable membrane. The
three key characteristics that distinguish a municipal sanitary landfill from an open dump are:
• Solid waste is placed in a suitably selected and prepared landfill site in a carefully prescribed manner.
• The waste material is spread out and compacted with appropriate heavy machinery.
• The waste is covered each day with a layer of compacted soil.

The problem with older landfills are associated with groundwater pollution. Pollutants seeping out from
the bottom of a sanitary landfill (leachates) very often percolate down to the groundwater aquifer no matter how
thick the underlying soil layer. Today it is essential to have suitable bottom liners and leachate collection systems
along with the installation of monitoring systems to detect groundwater pollution. The organic material in the
buried solid waste will decompose due to the action of microorganisms. At first the waste decomposes aerobically
until the oxygen that was present in the freshly placed fill is used up by the aerobic microorganisms. The
anaerobes takeover producing methane which is poisonous and highly explosive when mixed with air in
concentrations between 5 and 15 percent. The movement of gas can be controlled by providing impermeable
barriers in the landfill. A venting system to collect the blocked gas and vent it to the surface where it can be safely
diluted and dispersed into the atmosphere is thus a necessary component of the design of sanitary landfills. Even
though landfilling is an economic alternative
for solid waste disposal, it has become increasingly difficult to find suitable landfilling sites that are within
economic hauling distance and very often citizens do not want landfills in their vicinity. Another reason is that no
matter how well engineered the design and operation may be, there is always the danger of some environmental
damage in the form of leakage of leachates.

Incineration is the process of burning municipal solid waste in a properly designed furnace under suitable
temperature and operating conditions. Incineration is a chemical process in which the combustible portion of the
waste is combined with oxygen forming carbon dioxide and water, which are released into the atmosphere. This
chemical reaction called oxidation results in the release of heat. For complete oxidation the waste must be mixed
with appropriate volumes of air at a temperature of about
815oC for about one hour. Incineration can reduce the municipal solid waste by about 90 percent in volume and 75
percent in weight. The risks of incineration however involve air quality problems and toxicity and disposal of the fly
and bottom ash produced during the incineration process. Fly ash consists of finely divided particulate matter,
including cinders, mineral dust and soot. Most of the incinerator ash is
bottom ash while the remainder is fly ash. The possible presence of heavy metals in incinerator ash can be
harmful. Thus, toxic products and materials containing heavy metals (for example batteries and plastics) should be
segregated. Thus, extensive air pollution control equipment and high-level technical supervision and skilled
employees for proper operation and maintenance is required. Thus, while sanitary landfills and incinerators have
their own advantages and disadvantages, the most effective method of solid waste management is source
reduction and recycling.

Vermi-composting
Nature has perfect solutions for managing the waste it creates, if left undisturbed. The biogeochemical
cycles are designed to clear the waste material produced by animals and plants. We can mimic the same methods
that are present in nature. All dead and dry leaves and twigs decompose and are broken down by organisms such
as worms and insects, and is finally broken down by bacteria and fungi, to form a dark rich soil-like material called
compost. These organisms in the soil use the organic material as food, which provides them with nutrients for their
growth and activities. These nutrients are returned to the soil to be used again by trees and other plants. This
process recycles nutrients in nature. This soil can be used as a manure for farms and gardens. Steps for Vermi-
Compost:

• Dig a pit about half a meter square, one meter deep.

• Line it with straw or dried leaves and grass.
• Organize the disposal of organic waste into the pit as and when generated.
• Introduce a culture of earthworms that is now produced commercially.
• Ensure that the contents are covered with a sprinkling of dried leaves and soil everyday.
• Water the pit once or twice a week to keep it moist.
• Turn over the contents of the pit every 15 days.
• In about 45 days the waste will be decomposed by the action of the microorganisms and the worms.
• The soil derived is fertile and rich in nutrients.

Hazardous wastes
Modern society produces large quantities of hazardous waste which are generated by chemical manufacturing
companies, petroleum refineries, paper mills, smelters and other industries. Hazardous wastes are those that can
cause harm to humans or the environment. Wastes are normally classified as hazardous waste when they cause or
significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating reversible
illness or pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly
treated, stored, transported or disposed of.

Characteristics of hazardous wastes

A waste is classified as a hazardous waste if it exhibits any of the four primary characteristics based on the physical
or chemical properties of toxicity, reactivity, ignitability and corrosiveness. In addition to this, waste products that
are either infectious or radioactive are also classified as hazardous.
Toxic wastes are those substances that are poisonous even in very small or trace amounts. Some may
have an acute or immediate effect on humans or animals causing death or violent illness. Others may have a
chronic or long term effect slowly causing irreparable harm to exposed persons. Acute toxicity is readily apparent
because organisms respond to the toxin shortly after being exposed. Chronic toxicity is much more difficult to
determine because the effects may not be seen for years. Certain toxic wastes are known to be carcinogenic,
causing cancer and others may be mutagenic causing biological changes in the children of exposed people and
animals.
Reactive wastes are those that have a tendency to react vigorously with air or water, are unstable
to shock or heat, generate toxic gases or explode during routine management. For example, gunpowder,
nitroglycerine, etc.
Ignitable wastes are those that burn at relatively low temperatures (less than 60ºC) and are capable of
spontaneous combustion during storage, transport or disposal. For example, gasoline, paint thinners, and alcohol.
Corrosive wastes are those that destroy materials and living tissue by chemical reaction. For example,
acids and bases.
Infectious wastes include human tissue from surgery, used bandages and hypodermic needles,
microbiological materials, etc.
 Radioactive waste is basically an output from the nuclear power plants and can persist in the environment
for thousands of years before it decays appreciably.

Environmental problems and health risks caused by hazardous wastes

As most of the hazardous wastes are disposed-off on or in land the most serious environmental effect is
contaminated groundwater. Once groundwater is polluted with hazardous wastes it is very often not possible to
reverse the damage.
Pesticides are used increasingly to protect and increase food production. They form residues in the soil
which are washed into streams which then carry them forwards. The residues may persist in the soil or in the
bottom of lakes and rivers. Exposure can occur through ingestion, inhalation and skin contact resulting in acute or
chronic poisoning. Today we have an alternative to the excess use of pesticides through the use of Integrated Pest
Management (IPM). The
IPM system uses a wide variety of plants and insects to create a more natural process. The natural balance
between climate, soil and insect populations can help to prevent an insect from overpopulating an area and
destroying a particular crop.
Lead, mercury and arsenic are hazardous substances which are often referred to as heavy metals. Lead is
an abundant heavy metal and is relatively easy to obtain. It is used in batteries, fuel, pesticides, paints, pipes and
other places where resistance to corrosion is required. Most of the lead taken up by people and wildlife is stored in
bones. Lead can affect red blood cells by reducing their ability to carry oxygen and shortening their life span. Lead
may also damage nerve tissue which can result in brain disease.
Mercury occurs in several different forms. Mercury is used in the production of chlorine. It is also used as
a catalyst in the production of some plastics. Industrial processes such as the production of chlorine and plastics
are responsible for most of the environmental damage resulting from mercury. Our body has a limited ability to
eliminate mercury. In the food web mercury becomes more concentrated as it is taken up by various organisms. In
an aquatic environment, mercury can be absorbed by the plankton which are then consumed by fish. In addition,
fish take up mercury through their gills and by eating other fish contaminated with mercury. Generally older the
fish greater is the mercury concentration in its body. Birds that eat the fish concentrate even more mercury in their
bodies. It is a cumulative poison (it builds up in the body over long periods of time) and is known to cause brain
damage.

Minamata-An important lesson about mercury

A case of human mercury poisoning which occurred about forty years ago in the Minamata bay in Japan taught the
world an important lesson about the dangers of mercury poisoning. A large plastics plant located near the
Minamata bay used a mercury containing compound in a reaction to produce vinyl chloride a common plastic
material. The left over mercury was dumped into the bay along with other wastes from the plant. Though the
mercury was in its least toxic inorganic state when dumped, microorganisms at the bottom of the bay converted
the mercury into its organic form. This organic mercury then entered into the tissues of fish which in turn were
consumed by the people living in the area. The contaminated fish thus caused an outbreak of poisoning killing and
affecting several people. Mothers who had eaten the contaminated fish gave birth to infants who showed signs of
mercury poisoning. Mercury poisoning is thus called ‘Minamata Disease’.
Thousands of chemicals are used in industry everyday. When used incorrectly or inappropriately
they can become health hazards. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are resistant to fire and do not conduct
electricity very well which makes them excellent materials for several industrial purposes. Rainwater can wash
PCBs out of disposal areas in dumps and landfills thus contaminating water. PCBs do not breakdown very rapidly in
the environment and thus retain their toxic characteristics. They cause long-term exposure problems to both
humans and wildlife. PCBs are concentrated in the kidneys and
liver and thus cause damage. They cause reproductive failure in birds and mammals.
Vinyl chloride is a chemical that is widely used in the manufacture of plastic. Usually, people are
only exposed to high levels of vinyl chloride if they work with it or near it but exposure can also occur from vinyl
chloride gas leaks. After a long continuous exposure (one to three years) in humans, vinyl chloride can cause
deafness, vision problems, circulation disorders and bone deformities. Vinyl chloride can also cause birth defects. It
is essential to substitute the use of PCBs and vinyl chloride with chemicals that are less toxic.
Polyvinyl chloride use can be lowered by reducing our use of plastics. Thus, by reducing waste,
encouraging recycling and using products that are well made and durable we can greatly reduce our consumption
of these chemicals thereby curtailing our exposure to these substances. We may not realize it, but many
household chemicals can be quite toxic to humans as well as wildlife. Most of the dangerous substances in our
homes are found in various kinds of cleaners, solvents and products used in automotive care. When these products
are used incorrectly they have the potential to be harmful.
Today the most common methods for disposing off hazardous wastes are land disposal and incineration.
In countries where there is abundant land available for disposal for example, North America land disposal is the
most widely used method. In European countries and Japan where land is not readily available and is expensive,
incineration is the preferred method for disposal. In spite of strong laws, illegal
dumping of these wastes continues. Hazardous waste management must move beyond burying and burning.
Industries need to be encouraged to generate less hazardous waste in their manufacturing processes. Although
toxic wastes cannot be entirely eliminated, technologies are available for minimizing, recycling and treating
wastes. An informed public can also contribute in a big way towards this end. It is
essential for us to understand the ill effects of chemical substances so that we can make informed decisions about
its use. We might decide that the benefits of the use of a toxic substance do not outweigh the risks and choose not
to use it at all or we may decide that it is acceptable to use a substance under certain specific circumstances where
it is adequately controlled and exposure to toxic levels is prevented.

4.4 ROLE OF AN INDIVIDUAL IN THE PREVENTION OF POLLUTION

There are a host of environmental problems caused by human actions on the environment. If we are to respond to
these problems we have to recognize that each of us is individually responsible for the quality of the environment
we live in. Our personal actions can either worsen or improve our environmental quality. Several people may feel
that environmental problems can be solved with quick technological fixes. While a majority of individuals would
want a cleaner environment, not many of them want to make major changes in their lifestyle that could contribute
to a cleaner environment. Decisions and actions taken by individuals to a very large extent determine the quality of
life for everyone. This necessitates that individuals should not only be aware of various environmental issues and
the consequences of their actions on the environment but should also make a firm resolve to develop
environmentally ethical lifestyles.
With the help of solar energy, natural processes developed over billions of years can indefinitely
renew the topsoil, water, air, forests, grasslands and wildlife on which all forms of life depend, but only as long as
we do not use these potentially renewable resources faster than they are replenished. Some of our wastes can be
diluted, decomposed and recycled by natural processes indefinitely as long as these processes are not overloaded.
Natural processes also provide services of flood prevention, erosion control at no cost at all. We must therefore
learn to value these resources and use them sustainably.
Concepts that help individuals contribute towards a better quality of our environment and human life:
• Develop respect or reverence for all forms of life.
• Each individual must try to answer four basic questions: Where do the things that I consume come from? What
do I know about the place where I live? How am I connected to the earth and other living things? What is my
purpose and responsibility as a human being?
• Try to plant trees wherever you can and more importantly take care of them. They reduce air pollution.
• Reduce the use of wood and paper products wherever possible. Manufacturing paper leads to pollution and loss
of forests which release oxygen and take up carbon dioxide. Try to recycle paper products and
use recycled paper wherever possible.
• From the mail you receive reuse as many envelopes that you can.
• Do not buy furniture, doors, window frames made from tropical hardwoods such as teak and mahogany. These
are forest-based.
• Help in restoring a degraded area near your home or join in an afforestation programme.
• Use pesticides in your home only when absolutely necessary and use them in as small amounts as necessary.
Some insect species help to keep a check on the populations of pest species.
• Advocate organic farming by asking your grocery store to stock vegetables and fruits grown by an organic
method. This will automatically help to reduce the use of pesticides.
• Reduce the use of fossil fuels by either walking up a short distance using a car pool, sharing a bike or using public
transport. This reduces air pollution.
• Shut off the lights and fans when not needed.
• Don’t use aerosol spray products and commercial room air fresheners. They damage the ozone layer.

UNIT 5: Fostering Social Responsibility & Community Engagement in Higher Education

Institutions in India

5.1. Introduction
This document emerged from UGC’s long-standing commitment to strengthen social responsibility and community
engagement of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in India. An earlier policy of Ministry of Human Resource
Development (MHRD), Government of India (2012) had been developed into a Scheme to promote stronger
community engagement amongst HEIs in the country.
Unnat Bharat Ahiyaan (UBA) 2.0 was launched by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD),
UBA 2.0 aims to bring a trans formative change in rural development by the active participation of higher
education institutes with rural communities and reorientation of communities through research and development.
It was launched by the Government of India in February 2018. The University Grants Commission (UGC) set up a
Subject Expert Group (SEG) on Curricular Reforms and Educational Institutions Social Responsibility for achieving
the objectives of UBA 2.0 in June 2018 (Members of SEG Annexure – I).
“The Subject Expert Group (SEG) on Curricular Reforms and Educational Institutions Social Responsibility
will basically work on the reforms in the curriculum at the level of UG and PG to instill the concept of Rural
Community Engagement and Social Responsibility. The endeavour will be to ensure that community engagement is
not seen as a standalone activity and is integrated in the regular curriculum of the university to ensure the
development of the society around the university.”
This document provides the National Curricular Framework and Guidelines for “Fostering Social
Responsibility and Community Engagement” of HEIs in India. It has been developed by the Expert Group through a
series of consultations over this period. To achieve the objectives of socio-economic development of New India,
HEIs can play an important role through active community engagement. This approach will also contribute to
improvements in quality of both teaching and research in HEIs in India. As a growing and large sector in the
country, HEIs need to foster social responsibility and community in their vision and mission itself. It is also
important that institutional mechanisms are developed to adopt a holistic and functional approach to community
engagement, encompassing all the three functions of HEIs—teaching, research and service.

5.1.1 Global Context

Around the world, HEIs are being encouraged to foster social responsibility and community engagement in their
teaching and research activities over the past decade.
The declaration from the second UNESCO Conference on Higher Education held in Paris in July 2009
stated explicitly that, ‘Higher education has the social responsibility to advance our understanding of
multifaceted issues...and our ability to respond to them... Through its core missions of teaching, research and
service, it should lead society in generating global knowledge to address global challenges, inter alia, food
security, climate change, water management, intercultural dialogue, renewable energy and public health’.
After the first international conference on higher education, UNESCO supported a new global network in
1999—Global University Network for Innovations – GUNI (www. [Link]). GUNI’s 5th World Report on
Higher Education brings together global experiences on the theme “Knowledge, Engagement & Higher Education:
Contributing to Social Change” (2014).”Community University Engagement (CUE) is central to the creation of a new
citizenship…This Report proposes integrating CUE into all institutional, teaching and research activities, as a way of
thinking and acting.”2(GUNI, 2012).
There have been several other initiatives around the world that demonstrate the growing practice of
community engagement and social responsibility in higher education.
Living Knowledge Network in Europe ([Link]) has emerged from the movement of
Science Shops which began in the Netherlands in 1970s. Science Shops have been supported through many
European governments and the EU over the past decade. These ‘science shops’ are intermediary structures
between universities and local communities to mediate research on community identified problems jointly.
Science Shops have primarily comprised of engineering and natural science disciplines. PASCAL International
Observatory ([Link]) has focused its attention on promoting university partnerships with
regional and local governments over the past decade. The Talloires Network on Civic Roles and Social
Responsibilities of Higher Education ([Link]/talloiresnetwork) began in 2005 and now has more than 400
universities as its members worldwide; its focus has been on the promotion of university engagement in
communities to strengthen democratic citizenship amongst youth.
The Government of UK has supported over the past decade a National Centre for Coordinating Public
Engagement ([Link]) by HEIs where universities are supported to foster social responsibility and
community engagement. Over the past two decades, European Union’s Horizon 2020 research programme has
been explicitly focusing on ‘Responsible Research & Innovation’ ([Link]) which mainstreams public
engagement in all research projects of universities.
In its 6th World Report on Higher Education (2017), GUNi has focused on this very theme —“Towards A
Socially Responsible University: Balancing the Global & the Local”--- and it calls upon HEIs…” as centres of training
and the production as well as transmission of knowledge, HEIs are well positioned to link the local and the
global..”. India is a signatory to global commitment to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
Achieving these 17 SDG goals requires generating locally appropriate solutions. HEIs can play significant roles by
teaching about SDGs and undertaking
locally prioritised research for communities around them. Research and teaching of each SDG will enable multi-
disciplinarily in HEIs, as each SDG cuts across several academic disciplines. Global University Network for
Innovations (GUNI) in its 6th World Report beacons HEIs to engage with SDGs:
a) Educating the SDG Generation needed to make the SDGs a reality, with the necessary knowledge,
skills, competencies and partnerships, thereby helping to produce new SDG leaders
b) Conducting transversal reviews and refinements of curricula to ensure the mainstreaming of SDG
issues across curricula, and including new values and practices for economic development that
enhance social equity while reducing environmental risk.”

5.1.2 Community Engagement in India

In 2011, a national review was conducted by a Committee of Experts (set up by the then Planning Commission) to
analyse the purposes, principles and forms of social responsibility and community engagement which are relevant
to our context. Its recommendations to MHRD about “fostering social responsibility and community engagement
of HEIs” in India contain several important elements for the new policy.
The goals of ‘fostering social responsibility and community engagement in HEIs” can comprise of
• Improving the quality of teaching/learning in HEIs, by bridging the gap between theory and practice
through community engagement;
• Promoting deeper interactions between higher educational institutions and local communities for
identification and solution of real-life problems faced by the communities in a spirit of mutual benefit;
• Facilitating partnerships between local communities and institutions of higher education so that students
and teachers can learn from local knowledge and wisdom;
• Engaging higher institutions with local communities in order to make curriculum, courses and
pedagogies more appropriate to achieving the goals of national development;
• Catalysing acquisition of values of public service and active citizenship amongst students and youth
alike, which would also encourage, nurture and harness the natural idealism of youth;
• Undertaking research projects in partnership with local community through community-based research
methods

5.1.3 Key Principles for Community Engagement

In light of the global and national approaches currently prevalent, the following key principles shall guide
community engagement of HEIs:

a) Mutual learning and respect: Mutually agreed interests and needs of both rural communities and HEIs should
be articulated and respected. Without ensuring mutual benefit, community engagement does not serve the
purpose of social responsibility of HEIs. While community learns from students and faculty engaging with them,
students and teachers should also learn from community knowledge and experiences.

b) University-wide, in each faculty and discipline: Community engagement should not be limited to a few social
science disciplines alone. It should be practiced across all disciplines and faculties of HEIs. Faculties of natural
sciences and engineering can also promote community engagement in teaching and research. This will help
educate local communities about new technological innovations as well as inform students and faculty about ways
to harness local technology and knowledge.

c) Credit-based for students: Participation of students in teaching activities of community engagement and
research projects and learning should earn them credits. Community engagement should thus be included to meet
their graduation requirements and it should be integrated into their assessments.

d) Providing credit to Teachers for Engagement activities: Performance assessments of teachers, researchers and
administrators in HEIs should include review of their involvement and contributions to community engagement in
teaching and research. Criteria of and weightage to community engagement by teachers and researchers should
be explicitly included in assessments for recruitment, regularisation and promotion (by modifying existing API and
other faculty evaluation mechanisms).

e) Linkages with local institutions: In order to sustain regular community engagement programmes, HEIs should
develop organic and long-term linkages with local institutions around them. These include local governments,
district administration, local entrepreneurs, business and local NGOs.

5.1.4 Forms of Community Engagement

When the above principles are applied in practice by HEIs, they can choose any combination of the following
forms:

a) Linking learning with community service

In this approach, students and teachers apply their knowledge and skills in a chosen community to improve the
lives of people in that community. This can be achieved through the model of ‘service-learning’ (a globally
accepted best practice), providing engagement opportunities to students from various disciplines and courses to
apply their knowledge to address the challenges of a specific community. For example, students of chemistry can
conduct water and soil testing in local areas and share its results with local community.

b) Linking research with community knowledge

In this approach, various faculties and programmes of HEIs devise joint research projects in partnership with the
communities and local agencies. The community’s own knowledge is integrated into the design and conduct of the
research. New research by students helps them to complete their academic requirements, and at the same time
the community’s knowledge is systematized. Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) approaches are
gaining increasing recognition in this regard. Students of engineering, for example, can undertake research in
partnership with community on solid and liquid waste disposal.

c) Knowledge sharing and knowledge mobilization

The knowledge available with students and teachers in various disciplines is made available to the local community
to realize its developmental aspirations, secure its entitlements and access its benefits from various agencies and
schemes. These can take the forms of enumerations, surveys, awareness camps and campaigns, trainings, learning
manuals/films, maps, study reports, public hearings, policy briefs, cleanliness & hygiene teachings, legal aid clinics,
etc. For example, students can undertake ‘swachhta survekshana’ and/or nutrition survey for mothers and
children, and educate them about hygiene and nutrition.

d) Devising new curriculum and courses

Many institutions of higher education develop new curricula in existing courses as well as design new courses to
engage with community. This enriches the curriculum of existing courses through locally-appropriate subject-
matter. It also creates new, locally appropriate educational programmes that interest new generation of students.
For example, new courses on financial inclusion, entrepreneurship development and nutritional value of local
produce can improve knowledge and business opportunities
for students.

e) Including practitioners as teachers

Local community elders, women leaders, tribals, entrepreneurs and civil society practitioners have enormous
practical knowledge of a wide variety of issues—from agriculture and forestry to child-rearing, micro-planning,
water-harvesting and project management. This expertise can be tapped by inviting such practitioners to co-teach
courses both in the classrooms and in the field. Such instructors should be duly recognized, compensated and
respected for their practical experience and knowledge.

f) Social innovations by students

The students can be encouraged to initiate learning projects with a social impact and supported by HEIs.
Incubation of such social innovation projects by students can also have meaningful links to existing curriculum and
courses. Some competitions for social innovation are being organized by some HEIs; they should be integrated into
the curriculum.

5.2. Operational Guidelines

This section provides operational guidelines for implementation of this national curriculum framework for
fostering community engagement and social responsibility in HEIs. It contains four sub-sections:

1. Recommended Curriculum for a new compulsory course in community engagement for all UG and PG
students in HEIs
2. Suggestions for modifying existing courses and curriculum to align with national framework outlined
above
3. Offering new audit courses for promoting community engagement and social responsibility
4. Undertaking research in partnership with local community

5.2.1 Compulsory Community Engagement Course

It is recommended that each HEI conducts a compulsory course to provide community engagement to all
Undergraduate & Post Graduate students so that their appreciation of rural field realities is holistic, respectful and
inspiring. Model community engagement course is described below.

a) Introduction
New generation of students are increasingly unaware of local rural realities surrounding their HEIs, as rapid
urbanisation has been occurring in India. A large percentage of Indian population continues to live and work in
rural and peri-urban areas of the country. While various schemes and programmes of community service have
been undertaken by HEIs, there is no singular provision of a well-designed compulsory community engagement
course that provides opportunities for immersion in rural realities. Such a course will enable students to learn
about rural challenges and develop understanding of rural
wisdom and life-style in a respectful manner.

a) Objectives:
• To develop an appreciation of rural culture, life-style and wisdom amongst students
• To learn about the status of various agricultural and rural development programmes
• To understand causes for rural distress and poverty and explore solutions for the same
• To apply classroom knowledge of courses to field realities and thereby improve quality of learning

b) Learning Outcomes:
After completing this course, student will be able to
• Gain an understanding of rural life, culture and social realities
• Develop a sense of empathy and bonds of mutuality with local community
• Appreciate significant contributions of local communities to Indian society and economy
• Learn to value the local knowledge and wisdom of the community
• Identify opportunities for contributing to community’s socio-economic improvements

c) Credit
2 credit, 30 hours, at least 50% in field, compulsory for all students

d) Contents
Divided into four Modules, field immersion is part of each Unit
Course Structure: 2 Credits Course (1 Credit for Classroom and Tutorials and 1 Credit for Field Engagement)

S. Module Title Module Content Assignment Teaching/ No. of

No. Learning Classes
Methodology
1 Appreciation of Rural Rural life style, rural Prepare a map - Classroom 2
Society society, caste and gender (physical, visual discussions
relations, rural values with or digital) of the
respect to community, nature village you visited - Field visit** 4
and resources, and write an
elaboration of “soul of India essay about inter- - Assignment 2
lies in villages’ (Gandhi), rural family Map
infrastructure relations in that
village.
2 Understanding Agriculture, farming, Describe your - Field visit** 3
rural economy landownership, water analysis of rural
& livelihood management, animal household - Group 4
husbandry, non-farm economy, its discussions in
livelihoods and artisans, rural challenges and class
 entrepreneurs, rural markets possible
pathways - Assignment 1
to address them
3 Rural Institutions Traditional rural How effectively - Classroom 2
organisations, Self-help are Panchayati
Groups, Panchayati raj raj institutions - Field visit** 4
institutions (Gram Sabha, functioning in
Gram Panchayat, Standing the village? What - Group 2
Committees), local civil society, would you presentation
local administration suggest to of assignment
improve their
effectiveness?
Present a case
study (written or
audio-visual)

4 Rural History of rural development Describe the - Classroom 2

Development in India, current national benefits received
Programmes programmes: Sarva Shiksha and challenges
Abhiyan, Beti Bachao, faced in the
Beti Padhao, Ayushman Bharat, delivery of one of - Each 4
Swatchh Bharat, these student selects
PM AwaasYojana, Skill India, programmes one program
Gram Panchayat in the rural for field visit**
Decentralised Planning, NRLM, community;
MNREGA, etc. give suggestions
about improving
implementation
of the - Written
programme for assignment 2
the rural poor.

** Recommended field-based practical activities:

• Interaction with SHG women members, and study of their functions and challenges; planning for their
skill building and livelihood activities
• Visit MGNREGS project sites, interact with beneficiaries and interview functionaries at the work site
• Field visit to Swachh Bharat project sites, conduct analysis and initiate problem solving measures
• Conduct Mission Antyodaya surveys to support under Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP)
• Interactive community exercise with local leaders, panchayat functionaries, grass-root officials and local
institutions regarding village development plan preparation and resource mobilization
• Visit Rural Schools / mid-day meal centres, study Academic and infrastructural resources and gaps
• Participate in Gram Sabha meetings, and study community participation
• Associate with Social audit exercises at the Gram Panchayat level, and interact with programme
beneficiaries
• Attend Parent Teacher Association meetings, and interview school drop outs
• Visit local Anganwadi Centre and observe the services being provided
• Visit local NGOs, civil society organisations and interact with their staff and beneficiaries
• Organize awareness programmes, health camps, Disability camps and cleanliness camps
• Conduct soil health test, drinking water analysis, energy use and fuel efficiency surveys
• Raise understanding of people’s impacts of climate change, building up community’s disaster
preparedness
• Organise orientation programmes for farmers regarding organic cultivation, rational use of irrigation and
 fertilizers and promotion of traditional species of crops and plants
• Formation of committees for common property resource management, village pond maintenance and
fishing

e) Teaching & Learning Methods

A large variety of methods of teaching must be deployed:
UGC will prepare an ICT based MOOC for self-paced learning by students for the 1
credit to be conducted in the classroom
Reading & classroom discussions, Participatory Research Methods & Tools, Community dialogues, Oral
history, social and institutional mapping, interactions with elected panchayat leaders and government
functionaries, Observation of Gram Sabha, Field visits to various village institutions.

Recommended Readings
Books:
1. Singh, Katar, Rural Development : Principles, Policies and Management, Sage Publications, New
Delhi, 2015.
2. A Hand book on Village Panchayat Administration, Rajiv Gandhi Chair for Panchayati Raj Studies,
2002.
3. United Nations, Sustainable Development Goals, 2015 [Link]/sdgs/
4. [Link], Best Practices in Rural Development, Shanlax Publishers, 2016.

Journals:
1. Journals of Rural development, (published by NIRD & PR Hyderabad)
2. Indian Journal of Social Work, (by TISS, Bombay)
3. Indian Journal of Extension Education (by Indian Society of Extension Education)
4. Journal of Extension Education (by Extension Education Society)
5. Kurukshetra (Ministry of Rural Development, GoI)
6. Yojana (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, GoI)

5.2.2 Adapting Existing Courses for Community Engagement

The purpose of teaching is to enable learning of students. However, the reality of the present system of teaching in
most HEIs is that students feel dis-empowered when taught only in the classroom style delivery of content. Despite
advances in teaching aids, infrastructure, updated curricula and pedagogies, students are unable to relate what
they study in the classroom to the field realities in which they live and where they would work in future. Therefore,
it is important that the classroom theory is linked to the realities of the local field areas. Thus, existing courses can
be adapted, both in content and pedagogy, for community engagement to facilitate learning from the field. For
instance, management curriculum may
include aspects of micro-financing in rural context; chemistry syllabus can have a component of conducting water
and soil analysis in surrounding field areas; political science syllabus could include mapping of local rural
governance institutions and their functioning.
One of the essential pre-requisites for HEIs to fulfill the twin mandates of improved quality of learning of
students and their practical contributions to socio-economic development of the nation is to introduce such
dynamic curricular reforms which facilitate the connection between classroom theory and field realities. Within
existing courses being taught at HEIs, community engagement may provide better quality learning opportunities
for students, while also contributing to service to local community.

Dayalbagh Educational Institute ([Link]) has a farm on campus, and it is compulsory for all students and
faculty to spend time on the field in supporting agricultural operations. Likewise, its students of nursing make
weekly visit to local communities to provide immunisation and other primary care services, which are then
discussed in the classroom.

Keeping local realities in view, HEIs can develop new contents in existing courses which make them more relevant
to students from the local areas and also be useful to local community. This will not only enrich the curriculum of
existing courses through locally appropriate subject matter, but will also create new, locally appropriate course
content that is useful to local community.

Gandhigram Rural Institute ([Link]) has added some new contents to their existing courses, keeping
in view the needs of the local community. For example, Gandhian Approach to Development, Humanistic Values&
Sustainable Development, Bio-products of Rural Development, Food Security, etc.

Even within the existing curriculum and syllabus, community engaged learning can be facilitated through use of
new and innovative teaching-learning methods. The pedagogies of engaged & experiential learning can be
designed in each course and discipline. These include field labs, internships, participatory action research, service-
learning, community projects, etc. Engaged teaching entails interaction of students with the curriculum and the
world around the university. An engaged, outward, trans-disciplinary stance will enable enriching the curriculum
and promoting learning in multi-modal pedagogies in addition to the classroom and laboratories. Therefore, new
approaches to learning based on dialogical, co-learning, participatory and problem- oriented methods are required
for teaching existing curriculum. If a part of the theory is complemented with field-based application, the value and
usability of the theory increases manifold. This will improve quality of learning through application of classroom
theory in the field realities. It will also contribute to deeper sensitisation of students and faculty to the socio-
economic realities of our nation. The wisdom, knowledge and expertise of local communities and practitioners will
also thus become accessible to students and their teachers alike.
BPS University ([Link]) in Haryana adapted their teaching methods to promote
community engagement of students. From such an engagement, students developed field projects on rural energy,
self-employment, and women’s livelihood. Teaching methods included practice of knowledge gained in classroom
with local women’s groups and panchayats.

Amrita University has introduced rural field-based learning in several courses where science and engineering
students make field projects on rural tourism, energy, housing and sanitation ([Link]).

5.2.3 Offering new courses

Effective engagement between local communities and HEIs calls for dynamic revision of curriculum and
introduction of new courses. Therefore, HEIs need to design and introduce new courses at undergraduate and
post-graduate levels which foster social responsibility and enable community engagement. For instance, new
courses for engineering students may be designed focusing exclusively on water harvesting, storage, security and
distribution; management programmes may design a new course on logistic & business planning for sustainable
24×7 water supplies to rural habitations, etc. Courses on solid and liquid waste management, design of new toilets,
and low-cost housing materials are all examples of such new courses which enable community engagement by
students. To tap local knowledge, new courses can enable systematisation of local community knowledge (like folk
medicine for treatment of household animals).
Such courses can be audited by students, or taken as a part of 25% provision for external (to faculty)
courses now allowed by UGC guidelines. These can be short-term certificate courses, or integrated into the existing
syllabus. By their very nature, such courses are trans-disciplinary and require community engagement activities by
students. Additionally, new courses which teach about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will provide local
understanding about some of these goals to students, in addition to learning about Agenda 2030.
An indicative list of such new courses, compiled from various HEIs, is presented below:
a) Understanding panchayats and constitutional mandate of local governance
b) Panchayat administration, Gram Sabha, Mahila Sabha, GPDP, local planning of basic services
c) Micro-finance, SHGs, system of savings and credit for local business, linkages to banks, financial
inclusion
d) Rural – entrepreneurship, opportunities for small business in local communities, access to financial and
technical inputs to new entrepreneurs
e) Renewable energy, access to household and community level solar and bio-mass systems for
sustainable energy use
f ) Participatory Monitoring & evaluation of socio-economic development programmes, cost-benefit
analysis of project proposals
g) Participatory decentralised planning, GPDP, micro-level data analysis for new investments
h) Hygiene and sanitation, improving health and personal behaviours, locally manageable decentralised
systems
i) Water conservation, traditional practices of storage and harvesting, new systems of distribution and
maintenance
j) Women’s empowerment, gender inequality at home, community and public spaces, safety of girls and
women, access to skills, credit and work opportunities
k) Child security, safety and good parenting, nutrition and health, learning and training for child care
l) Rural Marketing, market research, designing opportunities for rural artisans and crafts, new products
based on demand assessment
m) Community Based Research in Rural Settings, undertaking research that values local knowledge,
systematises local practices and tools for replication & scale-up
n) Peri-urban development of informal settlements, mapping and enumeration, design of local solutions

5.2.4 Undertaking research in partnership with local community

If a mutually beneficial partnership with local communities and institutions—business, government, civil society---
is built, community university research partnerships may become supportive of new knowledge and its use. Many
students and faculty undertake research in the field. However, such research is currently carried out only to
advance the research interests of the students and faculty. Research questions can be framed in partnership with
local community so that new knowledge thus produced can provide solutions to local challenges.
In addition, most researchers—students and faculty—generally assume that community does not have
much knowledge on the subject of their research interests. Such an orientation is largely based on ignorance of
local expertise and knowledge available with the community and other practitioners. Undertaking research in
partnership with local communities can access local knowledge and further contribute to new knowledge
solutions. Local community can be involved as co-researchers in data-collection and sharing of results.
In a several countries, governments incentivise community engagement through additional funding for
HEIs. Indonesia and South Africa have developed extensive programme in this regard. Canada’s Social Science &
Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) began a separate research funding stream focusing on Community –
University Research Council (CURA). “Recognising the significance of the theme of social responsibility in higher
education, UNESCO has instituted a Chair on Community- based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher
Education ([Link]).
There is a large body of knowledge on community-based participatory research (CBPR) already in practice
in India, and internationally. Use of CBPR methodology generates locally appropriate knowledge solutions, as well
as disseminates new knowledge for generating awareness and taking actions to improve the situation in light of
that new knowledge.

Pt. Ravi Shankar Shukla University Raipur is undertaking such CBPR on issues of women’s empowerment jointly
agreed with local tribal community and State Planning Commission. It is a part of a global consortium on
Knowledge4Change (K4C). K4CConsortium).
In addition, undertaking research in partnership with local community helps in documenting and
systematising local knowledge generated through years of practice and experience. Centre for indigenous
knowledge in agriculture -(CIKA) at Gandhigram Rural University is set up to document, analyze, validate,
standardize and further propagate the Indigenous Knowledge/Practices in Agricultural and allied fields under
various farming systems of Tamil Nadu. Likewise, Centre for Society-University Interface (CSUIR) at BPS University
undertook documentation of local Ayurvedic practices for treatment of animals and propagated the same.
In order to promote the practice of sustainability in the infrastructure and functioning of HEIs, it can
undertake research in partnership with local communities to reduce energy and carbon consumption. Such
partnership research can also help recycle water and waste in ways that are locally useful by communities around
them.
When HEIs undertake research in partnership with local communities and other institutions, they can
improve the relevance and quality of their research. Local governments, district administration, local business and
NGOs can all benefit from research undertaken by students and faculty of HEIs, if it is undertaken in partnership
with them. Students thus gain a sense of satisfaction about their research making a useful contribution to society
through community engagement.

5.3. Implementation Strategy

Certain key steps are required for effective implementation of this national framework on ‘fostering social
responsibility and community engagement ‘in HEIs in the country. In this section, both short-term and long-term
steps have been described:
1. UGC should organise consultations with universities in different regions to deliberate upon the ways in which
these recommendations can be implemented by each of them. These consultations can be hosted by regional
offices of UGC.
2. Building competencies in community engagement amongst selected university staff is critical for its success.
Such capacity building can have several components. First, short orientation programmes for senior leadership of
HEIs should be hosted in such universities that already have good practices of community engagement (as GRI, DEI,
BPS, Amrita, etc.). Second, participating universities should be supported to develop operational plans to design
the launch of new compulsory course.
3. UGC should get an online self-paced MOOC course (in several languages) prepared soon so that classroom based
teaching material for compulsory community engagement course is ready before next academic year begins.
4. A professional development course for preparing faculty of participating HEIs can be organised and supported
by UGC to build professional competencies amongst facilitators of community engagement in participating
universities. Such Master Trainers can then support further professional capacity development in community
engagement through teaching and research. Existing Faculty Development Programmes can be utilised for building
such competencies in rural engagement. MGNCRE (under MHRD), in partnership with PIA, is already conducting
such a professional development course on facilitating community engagement in HEIs ([Link];
[Link]).
5. In order to enable students and faculty to undertake research in partnership with local communities, it is
important that training programmes in CBPR are organised as an integral part of support to participating HEIs. Such
training in CBPR requires learning of competencies in partnership research, and should be supported by UGC for
effective implementation of fostering social responsibility.
6. Universal experience suggests that participating HEIs must create a mechanism for interface with communities.
Several examples in this document show how such a Centre can bring university-wide involvement of students and
faculty in community engagement. Such a Centre also becomes the window for community and local institutions to
approach for support from the university. UGC should create a scheme for support to such Centres in participating
HEIs.
7. National accreditation agencies (NAAC, NBA,) and National Ranking Framework should include explicit indicators
and weightage of community engagement in teaching and research, as proposed in this document. This will
encourage HEIs to undertake community engagement seriously.
8. MHRD should ask all 15 Statutory Professional Councils to take urgent note of the recommendations of this
national framework on fostering social responsibility in HEIs and align curriculum and pedagogy of those
professional courses to these recommendations soon.
9. Faculty assigned to operationalise & implement these recommendations should be provided additional API
scores to sustain their motivation and professional progression. Community engagement activities in teaching and
research, as recommended in this national framework, should be given sufficient weightage in professional
evaluation of teachers, researchers and administrators.
10. MHRD may request Ministry of Corporate Affairs to include activities undertaken for fostering social
responsibility and community engagement by HEIs under the list of eligible areas for receiving funds for CSR.
11. UGC may forward this National Framework to Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India with a request that
HEIs are involved in research, monitoring and training functions for various development and welfare schemes of
the national and state governments.
12. Likewise, UGC may approach Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to request that MPLAD/MLALAD funds are made
available to HEIs in their constituencies to implement various proposals included in this document.
13. UGC may support a national centre to facilitate knowledge sharing, professional learning and continuous
monitoring of this national framework and its recommendations. Such a centre can undertake systematic
documentation of good practices and undertake new publications and convene national and international
conferences to further support this initiative for ‘fostering social responsibility and community engagement by
HEIs

Annexure:Composition of the UGC SEG

1. Dr. K. K. Aggarwal
Chairman, National Board of Accreditation (NBA)
A-3/512, Milan Vihar, Apartments
IP Extension, Delhi
Email: kkagarwal48@[Link]

2. Dr. B.K. Kuthiala

Chairman, Haryana State Council for Higher
Education, Chandigarh
Email: kuthialabk@[Link]

3. Prof. Raj Kumar

Vice-Chancellor
O.P. Jindal University
Sonipat Nerala Road, Sonipat (Haryana)
Email: vc@[Link]

4. Prof. S. Natarajan
Former Vice Chancellor
Gandigram Rural Institute, Dindigul (TN)
Email: vc@[Link]/ vco_gri@[Link]

5. Prof. Rajan Harshe

Former Vice-Chancellor
Allahabad University, Allahabad
Sri Aurobindo Marg
Hauz Khas, New Delhi
Email: rgharshe@[Link]

6. Prof. Rajesh Tandon

Co-Chair, UNESCO Chair on Community Based Research and Social
Responsibility in Higher Education
Founder President, PRIA
Dean, PRIA International Academy
42, Tughlakabad Institutional Area
New Delhi
Email: [Link]@[Link]

7. Prof. Anand Mohan

Registrar
Dayalbagh Educational Institute
Dayalbagh, Agra
Uttar Pradesh
Email: [Link]@[Link]

8. Dr. Ujwala Chakradeo

Principal
Manoramabai Mundale College of Architecture
LAD College Campus
Seminar Hills, Nagpur
Email: uchakradeo@[Link]

9. Dr. Kamal Bijlani

Ammachi Lab, Amritapuri
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapetham
Amritanagar, Ettimadai
Coimbatore
Email: bhavani@[Link]

10. Dr. (Mrs.) Pankaj Mittal

Secretary General,
Association of Indian Universities (AIU)
16 Comrade Indrajit Gupta Marg,
Opposite National Bal Bhawan, Near I.T.O.,
New Delhi, Delhi
Email: pankajugc@[Link]

11. Dr. (Mrs.) Renu Batra

Additional Secretary & Nodal Officer, UBA
University Grants Commission
Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi
Email: [Link]@[Link]

12. Dr. Diksha Rajput

Deputy Secretary & Co-ordinator UBA
University Grants Commission
Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi
Email: diksharajput@[Link]